{"id":290362,"date":"2025-11-19T10:51:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T15:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/80\/?p=290362"},"modified":"2025-11-19T11:18:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T16:18:54","slug":"pga-remarks-at-the-plenary-meeting-on-sport-for-development-and-peace-building-a-peaceful-and-better-world-through-sport-and-the-olympic-ideal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/80\/2025\/11\/19\/pga-remarks-at-the-plenary-meeting-on-sport-for-development-and-peace-building-a-peaceful-and-better-world-through-sport-and-the-olympic-ideal\/","title":{"rendered":"PGA Remarks at the Plenary Meeting on Sport for development and peace: building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remarks by the President of the General Assembly\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock<\/strong><\/p>\n

at the <\/strong>Plenary Meeting on Sport for development and peace: building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal<\/strong><\/p>\n

19<\/strong> November <\/strong>2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

[As <\/strong>delivered<\/strong>]<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dear Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee<\/p>\n

And, frankly as a former trampoline gymnast who always dreamt of participating in the Olympic Games, I would also like to say also dear Double Olympic Champion in Swimming,<\/p>\n

Dear Giovanni Malago, President of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games,<\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Olympic Truce, both in its ancient origins and its modern form, calls on nations to lay down arms and allow athletes to travel and compete.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This embodies an enduring principle: even in times of division, humanity can still find common ground through sport and an enduring hope: that through friendly competition we can rise above our divisions and reaffirm our common humanity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is a living metaphor of \u00a0what peace requires: discipline, restraint, respect, the courage to see an opponent not as an enemy, but as a partner in a shared endeavour, and sport underlines most of all, that everyone has to play by the rules, even the strongest and fastest among us, in order to become a true champion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We have seen these principles play out on fields and on courts, on rinks and in pools for generations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Every Olympic cycle invites us to imagine what our politics would look like if politicians, governments, and Heads of State carried those same principles off the field.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sport teaches lessons that remain relevant far beyond the arena.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That not winning a game does not mean you\u2019re a loser, but it\u2019s just the preparation for further success.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sport shows how reconciliation can take root when people meet each other with respect and fairness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And imagine what the world would look like if it was more like a soccer field, where it does not matter the colour of your skin, what your parents earn, who you love, or which God you believe in, but what only counts is if you can shoot a corner and that your team has your back.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That is the very spirit encapsulated in the Olympic ideal – the spirit of being Better Together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This spirit of this, our 80th\u00a0Session of the General Assembly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of course, sport not only unites people in peace; it also drives progress in development.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n