The 6th of April, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, was celebrated by the Brazilian Pierre de Coubertin Committee (BPCC). Several initiatives aimed to give meaning, importance and visibility to the contribution of Pierre de Coubertin to the development of societies through humanistic actions in the history of the Olympic Movement, promoting peace.

In addition, the BPCC encouraged its partner institutions involved in Olympic education to carry out initiatives that highlight the importance of this date. In this spirit, the Escola Básica URI – Erechim, a Pierre de Coubertin School since 2013, organised sports and cooperative activities with its primary and secondary students. Accompanied by moments of reflection, teachers engaged children and adolescents in discussions about the role of sport in uniting people, promoting solidarity, building values and contributing to a more just world.

With the same objective, the sports-based social programme Estação Conhecimento de Serra, also certified since 2013 and serving around 700 children and adolescents, introduced an action plan to raise awareness of Olympism and its values. The initiative combined sport with social education and the development of a humanistic perspective and practical experiences focused on peace.

Activities included a round-table discussion on the history of the Olympic Movement and major global sporting events, as well as cultural and social understanding. This was followed by a session on Pierre de Coubertin and the Olympic ideals, during which students engaged in a dialogue on Olympic values and the link between the Olympic spirit and the institutional goals of holistic human development.

Finally, the students were divided into groups and asked to reflect on what they would change in sport to promote fair play, role modelling and cooperation among athletes. The activities concluded with a tournament called “Fair Play Football”, where the students applied the rules they had developed together.

Image credits: Estação Conhecimento de Serra.