Globally, sport and play are increasingly garnering recognition as powerful agents of social change. At no time is this more evident than as Canada prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Just hours before the torch is lit in Vancouver, a dynamic mix of influential advocates will come together in dialogue to explore the ways in which sport can be harnessed to promote global peace and development.

Key speakers include:

Johann Olav Koss, 4-time Olympic Gold Medalist in speed skating and Founder and President of Right To Play – an international humanitarian organisation that uses sport and play to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in 23 countries around the world.

Stephen Lewis, Former UN Special Envoy on HIV/Aids in Africa and Chair of the Board of the Stephen Lewis Foundation – an innovative foundation working in partnership with community-based organisations to deliver more than 300 projects in 15 countries focused on women, grandmothers, orphans and people living with HIV and Aids.

Wilfried Lemke, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. As Special Advisor, Mr. Lemke leads and coordinates the efforts of the United Nations system to promote understanding and support for sport as an instrument for development and peace, and encourages dialogue, collaboration and partnership.

Benjamin Nzobonankira, a former child refugee from Burundi who was first introduced to Sport for Development programs while living in a refugee camp in Northern Tanzania and is now a Coach Trainer with Right To Play.

Other dynamic speakers are to be confirmed.

http://www.sportanddev.org/?1339/Sport-Peace-and-Development-How-can-Sport-Contribute-to-Positive-Social-Change