The Olympic Truce, he said, is a powerful symbol of that possibility: “a living metaphor of what peace requires: discipline“It takes respect and courage to build peace.”
Examples from recent decades show how powerful that metaphor can be in practice.
In the 1990s, Open Fun Football Schools brought together more than 150,000 children from all ethnic divisions in the Balkans and used the game to rebuild trust after conflict.
Similar programs in Colombia and Cyprus have helped fractured communities slowly rediscover trust through shared games, shared goals, and shared terrain.
General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock (left) chairs the meeting Sports for development and peace: building a better, peaceful world through sport and the Olympic ideal.
Equality at home
Sport’s ability to break down barriers is not only about peace between nations, but also about equality at home.
Gender equality featured prominently in the Assembly President’s remarks. It celebrated the defiant spirit of Canada’s women’s hockey team, which won Olympic gold at Sochi 2014, and embraced the famous taunt “Do you play like a girl?” with the answer: Yes – “fast and strong like girls.”
Her message, she said, contradicts the stereotypes that continue to limit women and girls far beyond sports.
Milan-Cortina 2026 will be the most gender-balanced Winter Games to date, with women expected to make up 47 percent of athletes.
italian promise
Italy is committed to ensuring the Games drive inclusivity and accessibility both on and off the ice, supported by hundreds of planned legacy projects.
The Italian delegation also highlighted moments of extraordinary sportsmanship that embody the Olympic spirit, remembering the generosity of sledder Eugenio Monti, who lent equipment to his rivals during the 1964 Innsbruck Games, an act that cost him victory that day but earned him lasting respect.
“Sport and the Olympic Games can offer a ray of hope, an alternative to rivalry and division,” said the representative of Italy.
As the world looks ahead to the winter games, the UN’s message is simple: the values learned on the field – justice, courage, teamwork – are the same values needed to build a more peaceful and inclusive world.