Qatar's Permanent Delegation to UN Organizes Virtual Seminar on Football and Peace
New York - information office - November 11
The Permanent Delegation of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, the Permanent Delegation of the United States of America, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and the Football for Peace Organization organized a virtual symposium in New York on football and peace.
Under the title "Football for Peace, Unlocking the Power of Football," the participants in the symposium sought to focus on the important partnership established by the State of Qatar to prevent and combat violent extremism and terrorism.
They also highlighted World Cup 2022 hosted by Qatar, its role in empowering youth and women in the Middle East, the Arab world and the rest of the world and the vital role that football plays in the present and future of countries.
HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani opened the symposium by saying that the State of Qatar is truly aware of the power of sport and is investing this power to its fullest potential. She pointed out to the inclusion of sport in Qatar's programs for local cooperation and development as a means to address complex social issues and to achieve sustainable development goals.
As we approach the first World Cup tournament in Qatar, the Middle East and the Arab world, Her Excellency hailed the achievements of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which is responsible for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Through its program "Generation Amazing", it was able to drive change and engage more than 500,000 people from Asia and the Middle East with the aim of empowering youth and women around the world to enhance focus on health, education and community integration as values that address the causes of extremism, HE added.
HE expressed her pride at the opening of Doha International Center for Behavioral Insights to Combat Terrorism in December, which was established as a program office of the United Nations Office to Counter-Terrorism in Doha.
The Center will work to develop research in behavioral sciences to better understand the drivers and factors that contribute to violent extremism and terrorism, in addition to providing capacity-building assistance to Member States, regional organizations and civil society partners to develop and implement programs, projects and initiatives that integrate behavioral insights and enhance communication and partnerships to share knowledge, experience and best practices, HE noted.
HE Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani expressed her belief that the Center will deal with sport as an effective force to combat extremism and terrorism. She called to include sport in post-Covid-19 recovery plans, adding that sport is a key element in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on health and well-being and in building back better.
The symposium was attended by HE Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov, and HE Deputy Coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism Bureau of Counterterrorism at the US State Department Christopher Harnich.
Football for Peace co-founder Kashif Siddiqi also participated as well as a number of women and men football players, a number of government, civil society organizations and private sector representatives to emphasize partnership in investing in sport as a force for peace and to combat extremism and terrorism.
This event is the second that comes within the framework of dialogue through sport - partnerships that prevent violent extremism. It comes through the existing cooperation between the State of Qatar and the United States of America in the field of combating terrorism and violent extremism, as the first event was organized at the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 25, 2019.