Jenő Kamuti gave a speech at the Unesco CIGEPS meeting in Paris
UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport, CIGEPS, held its annual regular meeting in Paris last week. Dr Jenő Kamuti, President of the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) also spoke at the two-days meeting.
Founded in 1978, CIGEPS is made up of experts in physical education and sport from 18 UNESCO Member States, each elected for a four-year term. There are no Hungarian representatives on the Committee in the current term. The consultative members - including UN agencies, the International Olympic Committee, the International University Sports Federation, the International School Sports Federation, the International Fair Play Committee and other key sports federations and NGOs - provide technical support and advice to UNESCO.
Jenő Kamuti spoke about the 60-year history of the organization he has chaired for 24 years, pointing out that UNESCO was one of the founding organizations. The President outlined the special Fair Play event planned for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, at the UNESCO Palace, which is currently being organized. He concluded his speech with a quote from Hemingway: "Sport teaches us to win honestly or lose with head held high. Sport teaches us everything."
The CIGEPS meeting was attended by Dr Gabriella Szűcs, Counsellor (Education, Sport, Social Sciences) from the Permanent Delegation of Hungary to UNESCO. With the help of Counsellor, President Kamuti and Gábor Deregán, Executive Director of the International Fair Play Committee, held several discussions on the summer Fair Play event. At UNESCO there are ongoing programs, and interestingly, on the first day an exhibition was opened on Nelson Mandela, who was awarded the International Fair Play Committee's Career Award in 1995.
Immediately after CIGEPS, the "Athletes Game On for Peace" conference, co-organized by UNESCO and Peace and Sport, featured Didier Drogba, former world famous Ivorian footballer, Siya Kolisi, world champion South African rugby player and Masomah Ali Zada, cyclist and member of the IOC Refugee Team from Afghanistan. All participants agreed that the athletes, because of their status and prominence, set an example to the world, not only on the sports field but also off it, in terms of peace, sportsmanship and helping each other.
As part of Paris and the Olympics, SPOT24, the "Exhibition of Olympic Sports and Urban Cultures", opened during CIGEPS next to the Eiffel Tower, is a temporary exhibition of the Olympic Museum and will be open to visitors interested in urban sports until the end of December 2024.
GD/CIFP
