Introduction:
The Arab Youth and Sports Ministers Council tasked the Socialist Peoples’ of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Arab Federation for Sport for All, with organizing the Third Scientific Arab Conference on “Sport for All.” This Conference was hosted by the Libyan Jamahiriya under the auspices of Engineer Mohammed Muammar Al-Gaddafi, President of the Libyan Olympic Committee. Eighteen Arab countries in addition to the representative of the Youth and Sports in the Arab League and the Arab Federation for Sport for All, participated in this four day conference during which the following items on the conference agenda were discussed:
During the course of the conference, 18 discussion papers out of the 28 papers submitted were selected for presentation and deliberation. The papers all aimed to consolidate the notion that, “Sport is an activity that people must engaged in rather than be mere spectators of.” And promoting the identification, analysis and education of the general public on the importance of leading an active lifestyle by participating in sport.
Objectives of the Conference:
1. Propagate awareness of the importance of sport in preserving the overall health of people of all ages
2. Knowledge of the level of interest that Arab countries pay in particular to the activities of Sport for All, with consideration to the various categories of age and sex
3. Introduction of Arab countries to the most recent Arab scientific experiments and research on the people engaged in sports, cataloguing on the exchange of sport experiences among Arabs
4. Collection and documentation of Arab scholars’ experiences and interested members of the public on the message of Sport for All. Focus was also made on how the media deals with the Sport for All concepts in Arab countries
5. Collecting information on the experience of Arab countries in the field of Sport for All
6. Dissemination and promotion of the knowledge attained by Arab citizen on the Sport for All Concept
7. Utilization of modern technology in promoting to individuals the importance of engaging in Sport for All activities.
Main Recommendations Adopted by the Conference
1. Endeavour to consolidate and strengthen the culture of peace through Sport for All as being a humane message for love, fraternity and knowledge among the people of the world, by means of cooperation with the International Sport for All Federation (F.I.S.p.T) and in accordance with the proposal put forward by the President of the International Federation
2. Drawing up and formulating an Arab working strategy that is in keeping with the development of man’s modern life in order to stimulate the practice and propagate the concept of Sport for All
3. Focusing on the grooming of sport leaders in order to meet the needs of all categories in a manner consistent with the characteristics and abilities of the individuals of the community
4. Charting of clear policies to achieve the objectives and concepts of Sport for All
5. Enhancing and consolidating the cooperation and partnership between the influential agencies in both the public and private sectors in order to ensure mutual integration
6. Utilization of the scientific research and theories which contributed to the development of the programmes and plans of Sport for All
7. Endeavour to plant the seed of the culture of Sport for All from the tender young age, on the proper and correct bases of knowledge so as to form a powerful launching pad for sound practices and making sports a strategic objective removed from competitiveness and intolerance
8. Adoption of the motto of family, and advertising and promoting it to make the community aware of the importance for all people to be engaged in the practice of sports
9. Setting up a fund for supporting the activities of the Sport for All Programme to contribute to the stimulation and propagation of its concept from scientific and application aspects.
President of the Federation Lauds the Efforts of the Libyan Jamahiriya
On this occasion, Mr. Isa Mohammed Abdul Rahim, President of the International Federation of Sport for All, expressed his appreciation and thanks to the officers of the Libyan Olympic Committee, headed by Engineer Dr. Mohammed Muammar Al-Qaddafi, the Chairman of the Libyan Olympic Committee, for the efforts they exerted in preparation for the conference and the recommendations proposed in the conference for the propagation of the concept of Sport for All.
Mr. Abdul Rahim expressed his appreciation for such efforts and for the important role conducive to the development of sport, “Sport for All, with its extensive concept, is an important means that will help individuals to keep fit and healthy and avoid the hazards of the diseases of this age.”
He looked at the Sport for All Programme as having significant objectives, ends and role in life, especially as our life gets more and more complicated, some of which are political and others social and which can extend to the Sport for All Programme a great opportunity for close affinity and relations between the people. Sport for All can also serve as a remedy for a life spoiled by politics and wars and can extend the bridges of love, communication and rapprochement between the individuals of the community away from mundane considerations.
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