The following is an abstract of World Taekwondo Federation President Choue Chung-won's keynote speech on the Sport Peace Corps initiative at the 2nd Turkmenistan International Sports Media Forum on April 3 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. – ED.
Let me begin today by telling you a story. It is a story about the dream of my late father, Choue Young-seek.
My father, who had experienced the physical and moral devastation of the 1950-1953 Korean War, was the founder of Kyung Hee University in Korea ― an institution that he hoped would assist the country’s physical and moral rejuvenation.
He later became president of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP). It was in that position that he delivered a keynote speech titled “The Great Imperative: Peace is More Precious than Triumph” at the sixth Triennial Conference of the IAUP in Costa Rica in July 1981.
The encouraging response my father received spurred him to think deeply about how peace might be delivered. Hence, he traveled to visit several countries to discuss with heads of states, and was granted a number of meetings with the secretary general of the United Nations.
After collating his thoughts and experiences, I assisted my father in drafting a resolution for the “International Day and Year of Peace.” Remarkably, just four months after my father’s speech, the resolution was taken at the U.N. on November 30, 1981.
This is why I bow before the memory of my father: it is thanks to his example that I have always had a special interest in world peace.
Since I took the helm of the World Taekwondo Federation in June 2004, I have believed that sport can and should promote world peace, which is the core ideal of both the U.N. and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
I have long believed that Olympic sports can help young people, especially in developing countries and territories in need of help, realize their hopes and dreams and improve relations between people of all religions, ethnicities and genders.
That is why I advocate, as a joint initiative between the U.N. and the IOC, the creation of a “Sport Peace Corps” -- a project inspired by John F. Kennedy’s U.S. Peace Corps.
I first unveiled my dream of a Sport Peace Corps in September 2007 at an international workshop on sports and peace in Leuven, Belgium and again in Monte-Carlo, Monaco at an international peace and sport forum in December that year.
I also called for the creation of the Sport Peace Corps in 2008 at the 6th IOC World Forum on Sport, Education and Culture in Busan, Korea. On May 22, 2010, I proposed the creation of the Sport Peace Corps at the 1st U.N.-IOC Forum at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, that would expand the scope of sports to involve all Olympic sports on a global scale.
And I once again called for the establishment of the Sport Peace Corps at the 2013 Sport Accord World Combat Games in St. Petersburg, Russia in October 2013.
The Sport Peace Corps entails the provision of comprehensive sport-related assistance to not only underdeveloped countries, but also to any U.N.-assigned areas, such as refugee camps. The assistance includes providing equipment, skills and training for local athletes and coaches for any Olympic sport in countries in need.
This gives hope and dreams to young people who are deprived of the opportunity to learn sport, while simultaneously promotes friendship, peace and understanding through sport and international interactions.
The Sport Peace Corps project requires a group of volunteers consisting of coaches, athletes and physical educators to be dispatched following a period of training to serve assigned communities.
In short, this project encourages participation of sport-loving people in the peace-building process.
All of these efforts will promote the Olympic spirit and the U.N.'s aspirations for peace. I believe that this is a win-win proposal for both the IOC and the U.N. since the project actively fulfills the fundamental principles of both organizations.
To this end, the World Taekwondo Federation is in close discussions with the U.N. and the IOC. In December 2013, the federation signed a partnership agreement with the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace, which aims to use taekwondo as a means to promote the organization's objectives of promoting sport for all and peace.
As a pilot program of the Sport Peace Corps, the federation launched the World Taekwondo Federation Taekwondo Peace Corps program in the summer of 2008. It was designed to instill positive values and discipline in young people -- two factors that are key to living a life of virtue and honor.
The Taekwondo Peace Corps is a platform where young athletes can not only improve their taekwondo skills, but also open their minds through cultural exchanges, and in the process broaden and deepen their knowledge of the world, so that they can be a force to promote peaceful coexistence among the world’s nations and people.
Since its first dispatch in the summer of 2008, about 1,300 volunteers of the WTF Taekwondo Peace Corps have volunteered in around 100 countries with great success.
To further activate the program, the federation launched the World Taekwondo Peace Corps Foundation in September 2009 and the Taekwondo Peace Corps has been welcomed warmly and appreciated by each of the host countries, where they’ve lit up the dreams and hopes of young people.
These pilot years have allowed us to expand our horizons with this project. The Taekwondo Peace Corps will continue with a twice-a-year, short-term dispatch for two months, and a mid- and long-term dispatch of instructors for six months to two years, targeting more recipients and a larger number of countries.
The success of the Taekwondo Peace Corps has been far-reaching. It has served as an example for International Federations, the IOC and the U.N, of the possibilities of a full-fledged Sport Peace Corps, which incorporates all sports -- not just taekwondo.
Based on our experience, I once again propose moving forward in developing a global Sport Peace Corps program. I call on all International Federations, IOC and U.N. institutions, as well as all networks of relations and sponsors to band together in making this a reality.
The Sport Peace Corps vision has the potential to provide sportsmen, sportswomen and their coaches with the inspiration to serve humanity. The vision, if realized, can grant hope, optimism, physical health and confidence to young people in all parts of the world, particularly those who suffer from material deprivation.
Thank you.