PARIS - Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah Khan who is in Paris to attend the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Wednesday visited the UNESCO headquarters where he represented Pakistan at the ´Change the Game’ Ministerial Forum. The Minister participated in the discussion focused on ‘Leveraging Quality Physical Education & Sport for Sustainable Social Legacies.’
The Minister appreciated UNESCO for organising this high-level forum in the run-up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. He added that mega sports events, like Olympics, act as a unifying force in bringing together the entire world in healthy competition, where all of us are winners. The Minister said that Pakistan is a country of 240 million people and two-thirds of the population is below the age of 24, making Pakistan one of the youngest countries in the world. Keeping this in view, the Prime Minister of Pakistan launched a special initiative, called “Prime Minister’s Youth Programme”, to engage, educate, and empower youth. He apprised all that under this Programme, a ‘Youth Talent Hunt Programme’ was organised across Pakistan for 12 different games to shortlist future athletes and to impart social values that would be an asset for them for life. Further a national conference was also organised on ‘Revival of Sports’ to foster a merit-based culture within sports; ensuring that young athletes are selected, trained, and promoted based on their talent and hard work. The Minister said that physical education and sports provide productive pathways for individuals as well as societies to build resilience and skills, such as leadership, communication, team-building, and critical thinking. He acknowledged that sports also teaches discipline, develops friendship across borders and plays a positive role in promoting mutual understanding; celebrating cultural diversity; and enhancing physical and mental health of youth.
Social legacies, therefore, such as fostering inclusion, community building, volunteerism, and physical activities, are by-product of sports that ensure improvements in our societies, the Minister added. UNESCO has a central role to play in this field and can assist Member States through its capacity building programs on physical education and sports. The Minister emphasised that we all need to support international efforts focused on sports for peace and development and build a bright future for our generations to come. Ambassador of Pakistan to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Asim Iftikhar Ahmad also attended the event.
