United Nations lead agency for sport, UNESCO has been unveiled as a patron for the Global Sports Week in Paris, which is scheduled to take place for the first time at the Louvre in February 2020.
The new, annual international forum seeks to bring together leaders and disruptors around an agenda focussed on ‘making the future of sport.’
The programme will examine the two-way relationship between sport and global society at a time of rapid and significant transformation, driven by social, technological and climate-related shifts.
The Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay commented: “Among other powers, sport fosters social inclusion and gender equality. The Global Sports Week is a special opportunity for activating this power collectively.”
Arnaud Drijard, CEO and co-founder of Global Sports Week added on the importance of UNESCO’s backing: “The support of UNESCO underlines our ambition to make Global Sports Week a key forum for dialogue and innovation, as sport adapts to new commercial and societal opportunities.”
UNESCO joins an extensive list of supporters already behind the event, which includes M. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, as High Patron of the event, and Founding Partners BPCE Group and the French Ministry of Sports. The International Paralympic Committee, UEFA and EPCR are also backing the event.