WHAT MEANING FOR FAIR PLAY?

In the words of UNESCO's Director-General, Mr. Federico Mayor " Sport...well taught, can be a basic building block of a civic culture based on fair play, respect for the rules, team work and most of all friendship that transcends competition ". It is therefore at the educational level -though this is not the only one - that UNESCO's mandate in the fields of physical education and sports will be strengthened. The ethical side of sport is one of its main concerns as sports have always mirrored and expressed the ambiguity of the human condition, its aggressiveness and its togetherness, its woes and its joys.

Normative and incentive actions serve to underline the need today to spread goals and practices that make sports one of the cleanest and noblest ways with which other human beings relate to themselves individually, and to each other collectively. As a normative action, UNESCO's " International Charter of Physical Education and Sport " adopted by the Organization's 186 Members States, can help educators, sports organizations etc.. as an educational tool on one hand promote sports in an environment of fair play, and on the other to foster better understanding of its basic values.

In co-operation with UNESCO, the International Fair Play Committee - a primus inter pares partner in the aforementioned area since 1964 - has made Annual Fair Play Awards to promote decent behaviour in sports on and off the field. Awards have been made in many types of sports, from bobsleigh ( the first Trophy went to Italian bob-sledder Eugenio Monti who, when his UK top rival's bob proved defective in a crucial final run, loaned his own : the Englishman won and Monti cheered !) to attitude of spectators (the Award-winning attitude of Stuttgart's spectators during the World Athletics Championships in August 1993 has led to the consideration of holding the 1994 Trophy Ceremony in that city).

The role of the European Fair Play Movement must be encouraged in its promotion of fair play and this laudable activity, complementary to our planed creation of regional fair play organizations, can be foreseen as a big step in a global strategy aiming at creating an international strong fair play network. UNESCO will encourage all andeavours in this direction the improved visibility and active involvement of the international sport community. Thus we trust a culture of peace can be strengthen.

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