Sport has the power to link people and nations, to build the principle of respect for the opponent and fair play, principles necessary for the political and business elites on global level today. It will be better for all of us if these principles of sport become dominant in the other spheres as well, the President of the Republic of Macedonia Dr. Gjorge Ivanov said yesterday on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the 5th Peace and Sport International Forum 2011 taking place in Monte Carlo under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco.

President Ivanov, being one of the key-note speakers at the opening ceremony of the Forum, stressed that practicing sport is building positive attitudes, dedicated individuals who, through sport can contribute to peace.

“From the dawn of humanity, sport, understood as a competition of the human spirit, will and physical strength has been seen as a substitution for war. Today, here, at this Forum, we see sport not as a substitution for war, but as a road to peace. Through its power to attract, mobilize and inspire individuals, communities and nations, sport helps us promote the ideas of peace, tolerance, justice, non-violence and solidarity”, the Macedonian President said at the opening of the Forum, where he was announced with the constitutional name of the country – the Republic of Macedonia.
He also underlined that sport has the power to link people and nations, to teach the youth that there is no such thing as a short-cut to success, because will, diligence and hard work is necessary for it.

As a confirmation of his stance concerning the power of the sport to link people and nations, the Macedonian President mentioned several successes of Macedonian athletes, including the latest success of the Macedonian basketball team at European Basketball Championship, which as he said, made all Macedonian citizens proud and united in the victory.

“Therefore, each sport success encourages us to continue investing in sport, not only as a physical activity, but as a way of building positive attitude, dedicated individuals who, through sport can contribute to peace”, President Ivanov said, reminding of the accelerated and increased investment in sport, sport facilities and infrastructure in Macedonia.

The President added that in sport, just like in peace, an individual achievement can be decisive and can change the end result, as the acts of a dedicated group of individuals can prevent an outbreak of a conflict, or can stop an ongoing conflict.

A short video message was broadcasted before the audience of the young basketball player Ognen Stojanovski as an announcement of President Ivanov’s address, speaking of the uniting power of sport, its power to motivate and inspire to achieve better results.

Also, the Hungarian President Pal Schmitt, King Letsie III of Lesotho, the President of the Republic of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, and the President and Founder of Peace and Sport, Joël Bouzou, delivered addresses at the Forum’s opening.

Peace and Sport International Forum, founded in 2007, aims at sustainable peace, throughout the world through sport, encouraging cooperation and exchange of opinions in view of designing concrete initiatives which will put sport in function of peace.

The ongoing success of this Forum is owing to the participation of the highest authorities from the worlds of politics, sport, the private sector, international organizations and civil society, committed to take actions for attaining this goal.