UNESCO set to co-host junior tennis tournament at home of French Open

The United Nations cultural agency is teaming up with French-based banking giant BNP Paribas to host hundreds of young athletes from around the world for a tennis tournament at Roland Garros Stadium - home of the French Open.

More than 300 players between 12 and 14 years-old from more than 60 countries are expected for the BNP Paribas Cup, which will be held from 1 to 10 July at the Stade Francais in Paris under the auspices of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Although this will mark the third year of the UNESCO's involvement in the tournament, it is the first time in the competition's 15-year history that the finale will actually be held in the Stade Roland Garros, on 11 July, following the French Open.

At the tournament site's Rainbow Village, UNESCO plans to make available a range of publications and exhibitions spotlighting its effort to place education, culture, science and communication at the heart of development. Workshops will be held on such relevant topics as doping, action for non-violence, teaching values through sport and cultural diversity in sports.

Tasked with spearheading the effort to prepare an international treaty against doping in sports, UNESCO plans to host a conference and debate on the subject during the tournament. A draft convention is being prepared and will be submitted for adoption at the 33rd session of UNESCO's General Conference in 2005.

In other news, the agency is set to name Russian ice hockey champion Vyacheslav Fetisov a UNESCO Champion for Sport in a ceremony Wednesday at its Paris headquarters.

Mr. Fetisov, who heads the Russian Federation's Federal Agency for Sport, Education and Tourism, will be honoured in recognition of his outstanding achievements in sports and his exemplary efforts to promote physical education among young people living in difficult situations, UNESCO said.

With seven World Championships, he also won two Olympic gold medals during the 1980s as captain of Russia's national team. Mr. Fetisov is also a three-time Stanley Cup (USA) winner - twice as a player and once as an assistant coach.