When Sport Breaks Down Walls

A series of international youth forums on the use of sport for peace and public diplomacy, launched in Berlin.

When Sport Breaks Down Walls is a series of international youth forums on the use of sport for peace and public diplomacy. Its premise is that young people are not only the audience for messages about unity, but can be among the most convincing people to carry them.

The first forum was held on 6 April 2019, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Save the Dream organised it with the International Olympic Truce Centre. The setting gave the forum its theme: a city once divided by a wall became the starting point for a conversation about what sport can do to bring people together.

Held with the support of Qatar Airways, the forum brought young leaders together to develop ideas on sport as a tool of public diplomacy and to carry a message of unity across nations, faiths and socio-economic conditions. It was conceived as the first of a series, giving young leaders a recurring platform rather than a single event.

Photo: Participants at the youth forum in Berlin.

PROJECT FACTS