(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Doha Goals Forum drew to a close yesterday after bringing together more than 1,800 participants from all over the world over three days, and confirming its position as a catalyst for real social, political and economic change through the power of sport.
The opening sessions featured presentations from some of the programmes, evolved during previous Doha Goals Forums, which have already been implemented, including a prosthetics programme. Champion special athletes Stephane Houdet and Hou Bin were part of this presentation, as were two of the recipients of this programme.
Student ambassadors from Romania and Canada also reported on initiatives they had set up after being inspired by attending the forum last year, and the results of the initiative to build sports courts in Palestine, Gabon and Afghanistan were also shared.
During the closing session, ideas for new initiatives were presented to address areas as diverse as women in sport, sport for community health, sport for integrating fragmenting communities and using sport to fight against discrimination of all kinds.
The Executive Producer of Doha Goals Forum, Richard Attias, said: "Listening to all these ideas, it is clear that you want to help us extend the reach of the Doha Goals Forum community. Every single initiative suggested needs the cooperation of multiple stakeholders in sport - so it's clear that the need for a Doha Goals community grows every stronger."
Among the many interesting topics discussed, big data was of course part of the exchanges both in terms of athletes and sports team performance but also for common fans and amateur athletes.
The dedicated panel agreed that the volume and power of data will continue to grow but that there will always be a need for a human element in sport.
The third edition of the forum brought together a diverse range of world leaders, football federations, sporting heroes, business leaders and students.
Among the speakers were former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion and US Olympic Gold medallist George Foreman, who captivated the audience and spoke about how we all have a common responsibility for each other.
Other participants included former German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, Jamaican triple Olympic gold medallist Veronica Campbell-Brown; triple Olympic gold medal winner and current director of USA Track and Field Jackie Joyner-Kersee, H E Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon, Vice-president of the International Olympic Committee Sir Craig Reedie, Former London 2012 Chairman Lord Sebastian Coe, triple Paralympic champion Hou Bin, French Secretary of State for Sports Thierry Braillard.
H E Ali Bongo Ondimba said: "Thanks to remarkable initiatives like Global Watch and Doha Goals Forum to eradicate racism in sport, today sport is uniting to fight the darker side of human society, to build a safer, more
integrated environment for people of all backgrounds to come together.
"It is important that heads of state and CEOs around the globe demonstrate their personal support for sportsmen and women."
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