UN adviser takes part in summit on sport and social change in London

The United Nations official tasked with promoting sport for development and peace today joined retired sports stars Ian Thorpe, Michael Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo and senior international political, religious and business figures such as Tony Blair, Desmond Tutu and Richard Branson at a London summit on how sport can drive social change.

Wilfried Lemke, the UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, took part in a panel discussion on the role of sport in education, one of a series of panels on the third and final day of the Beyond Sport Summit.

The summit – attended by more than 350 high-level participants – aims to generate ideas for ways in which sport can promote development or other socially useful activities and to help set up strategic partnerships between government, business, philanthropy and the sports community.

Earlier this week Mr. Lemke attended the 13th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Africa, which was held in Abuja, Nigeria. Since taking up his role as Special Adviser in April last year, Mr. Lemke has given special attention to Africa, particularly sports programmes that empower women and girls or people living with physical or intellectual disabilities.