President: Keith Joseph
Secretary: Alexandra Walrond
Treasurer: Jacintha Ballantyne
P.O. Box 1644, Kingstown
St. Vincent, West Indies
Tel: 784 457 2970 ● Fax: 485 6412
Email: [email protected]
Dear Friends
Team Athletics St. Vincent and the Grenadines (TASVG) eagerly joins the rest of the world in observing today, 6 April 2020, as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), a designation made by the United Nations at its General Assembly of 2013 by Resolution A/RES/67/296. Since then the IDSDP has been observed globally, every year.
The day, 6 April, was deliberately chosen by the United Nations as it coincided with the date of the commencement of the modern Olympics in Athens, Greece, in 1896, by the International Olympic Committee. The IDSDP therefore at once harmonises the ideals, values and principles of the International Olympic Movement with those of the United Nations.
The UN Resolution establishing IDSDP,
invites States, the United Nations system and, in particular, the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace, relevant international organizations, and international, regional and national sport organisations, civil society including, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, and all other relevant stakeholders to cooperate, observe and raise awareness of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not at war but there are numerous conflicts that continue to plague our society. There is an unwelcome number of senseless murders committed each year. We continue to have an escalation in domestic violence and the indiscriminate abuse of our girls and women. We hear, all too frequently of child abuse.
The practice of sport is a human right. It offers us all the opportunity to share our humanity in a global endeavour aimed at engendering unity and peace amongst the peoples of the world. Regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnicity, class and social status, we are all human beings capable of casting our differences aside to build a better world through sport. TASVG shares this vision and commits to its realisation.
Today, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, allows us at TASVG yet another opportunity to urge all our stakeholders to adhere to the established protocols aimed at enhancing our capacity to defeat COVID-19.
Keith Joseph
President
TASVG
6 April 2020
