DECLARATION BY OLYMPIC ATHLETES, INTERNATIONAL PHOTO EXHIBIT FORM PART OF CAMPAIGN ON 'SPORTS AGAINST DRUGS'
Press Release
SOC/NAR/743
DECLARATION BY OLYMPIC ATHLETES, INTERNATIONAL PHOTO EXHIBIT FORM PART OF CAMPAIGN ON 'SPORTS AGAINST DRUGS'
19960719 VIENNA, 19 July (UNCDP) -- A declaration by Olympic athletes on "Sports against Drugs" and an international photo exhibit on the same theme will form part of efforts led by the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) in connection with the upcoming twenty-sixth Olympic games, to be held at Atlanta, United States, from 19 July to 4 August. The campaign was launched last year in Rome by the Vienna-based UNDCP and the International Olympic Committee.The message that sport helps young people stay away from drugs is the theme of the international photo exhibit which will be displayed at the main recreation area for the athletes in the Olympic Village throughout the games. Produced by the United Nations, it has also been displayed in Vienna and New York.
As lead organization in the campaign, the UNDCP is advocating a balanced global approach to the drug problem which focuses on reducing the illicit demand, particularly through preventive measures. One aim of its campaign is to mobilize an ever-increasing number of athletes, who act as role models for the young, to encourage them to make the right choices.
A number of prominent athletes, including Austrian Olympic gold medallists Franz Klammer (downhill skiing) and Peter Seisenbacher (judo), Italian soccer star Roberto Baggio, and British skating champion Charlene Von Saher, have supported the "Sports against Drugs" campaign by signing the following Declaration:
"Sport has enriched my life and brought a sense of purpose to it.
Sport has taught me to respect my opponents.
I pledge to pass on this message on to the youth of the world, together with the other values of the Olympic ideal.
Young people should recognize that some opponents are more to be feared than others.
Some are only worthy of contempt and must be tackled in the most aggressive way.
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Drug abuse is one of these.
We, sportsmen and women, will unite to combat drug abuse."
So far, the Declaration has also been signed by the following Olympic athletes: Kazuyoshi Miura (Japan), Venuste Niyongabo (Burundi), Michael Lynagh (Australia), Abel Balbo (Argentina), Sara Simeoni (Italy), Cliff Bayer (United States) and Al Dixon (United States). The International Olympic Committee has informed the National Olympic Committees about the Declaration and encouraged their support in collecting additional signatures of renowned athletes participating in the upcoming Olympics.
Sports can serve as a powerful preventive barrier against drug abuse because they instill values and principles that far transcend physical activity. Research indicates that through competition and the experience of victory and defeat, young people acquire self-esteem. They also learn to respect their own bodies and to overcome obstacles.
The "Sports against Drugs" campaign also calls on governments, sports federations and National Olympic Committees to develop programmes and disseminate messages which promote healthy lifestyles and alternative coping skills -- especially for high-risk urban youth.
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Note: For additional information, contact Andrea Wurm, Coordinator of UNDCP's "Sports against Drug" campaign. She can be reached at the Olympic Family Hotel Mariott-Marquis, by phone (404-521-0000) or fax (404-586-6098).