The Value of Respect in Sport and in Life
RESPECT is a way of treating someone or something in a way that shows regard for their feelings, wishes, rights and traditions. This means that you accept somebody for who they are, even when they’re different from you or you don’t agree with them. The presence of RESPECT has a powerful effect – when we RESPECT ourselves, we stand taller. When we RESPECT others, they respond in kind.
RESPECT in Sport has the same effect – those involved in the game, as well as those spectating, are lifted up when there is:
RESPECT FOR THE SPORT
RESPECT FOR SELF
RESPECT FOR OTHERS
This is why RESPECT is one of the core Six Principles of SPORT AT THE SERVICE OF HUMANITY.
Use RESPECT in Sport to Build Trust & Understanding
No matter how you feel about your opponent, you must show them RESPECT. By using this as the foundation to build our communities and our sport, we can meet one another across borders and boundaries, learn to compete as friends, and to trust one another even in opposition.
When we start with the simple action of respecting one another’s differences, we have the opportunity to be transformed and to transform others.
It is also upon the platform of RESPECT for oneself and for others that peace can be achieved.
PEACE is the concept of harmonious well-being and freedom from hostile aggression. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups
Conflict arises when there is an absence or lack of RESPECT for others who have a different culture or point of view. By using the commonality of Sport we can understand our opponents and their culture more deeply.
Building on RESPECT to create Peace through Sport
One organization that embodies RESPECT in the context of Sport and Life is Peace and Sport. Founded in 2007 by Olympic Medalist Joël Bouzou, Peace and Sport enjoys the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The organization’s mission is to build peaceful communities through the power of Sport. Their hope is that this will in turn create a safer, more equitable and inclusive world, especially for those areas affected by poverty or social instability.
Peace and Sport uses Sport to bring together people, athletes and officials to foster dialogue and cooperation. Last year, the organization helped to bring together North Korean and South Korean athletes in mixed teams at Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championship and the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
In 2017, Peace and Sport in cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the 2018 PyeongChang Organizing Committee unified players from the north Korea and South Korea for a #WhiteCard photo during the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division II Group A in Gangneung. One year later, Peace and Sport and IIHF this weekend united the joint North-South Korea women‘s hockey team for a symbolic #WhiteCard photo during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
The #WhiteCard Campaign
In 2015, Peace and Sport launched the #WhiteCard in support of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace that takes place annually on April 6.
The #WhiteCard is symbolic of the positive and constructive values of Sport, in contrast with the red card which signifies the most serious offence in Sport.
Over the last four years, the #WhiteCard has reached more than 171 million people on social media and is recognized as the symbol of the sport-for-development-and-peace movement. The #WhiteCard campaign encourages sports organizations, governments, athletes, schools and community organizations to endorse the #WhiteCard as the symbol of the power of Sport for development and peace.
The Transformational Power of Sport
The Sport at the Service of Humanity global movement was launched in 2016 and the Six Principles – Compassion, Love, Balance, Enlightenment, Joy and Respect – were unanimously endorsed by all those who participated.
HSH Prince Albert and Mr. Joel Bouzou were among the 400+ delegates at that historic first global conference and we commend their leadership for embodying the values of the Sport at the Service of Humanity movement. Importantly, we recognize the efforts to bring the Principles to life not just in words or thought but importantly, through Action.
Sport at the Service of Humanity commends Peace and Sport for the work they are doing to create more peaceful and inclusive communities through the power of Sport.
