Leaders gather for Beyond The Games
Amongst the thousands of members of the global sport industry arriving in Glasgow this week for the Commonwealth Games was an influential group who came together for a groundbreaking international summit for social change through sport on Monday 21 July.
The likes of Paralympic legend Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, IOC Executive Board Member and World Anti-Doping Association President Sir Craig Reedie, psychologist, organisational consultant and former NBA star John Amaechi, and former Unicef President Lord Puttnam took to the stage at Beyond The Games, powered by Dell, which brought together sports and civic leaders to explore the power of the Games to advance promotion of and respect for the Commonwealth Games Federation’s core values of humanity, equality and destiny.
Amaechi, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist with the England basketball team, joined Beyond Sport Founder Nick Keller at the official Glasgow 2014 media briefing on Sunday, where he told press from around the world: "We are not saying we can transform sport and solve all the world's problems in one day. But we do know for certain that if we ignore those problems, and don't use opportunities like this to come together and explore how we can support each other, then nothing will be done."
The event, staged in partnership with Dell, the Official IT Hardware and Data Centre Supporter of Glasgow 2014, saw equal rights, inclusion and ethics on the agenda just two days before the Opening Ceremony. Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive David Grevemberg gave the first address of the day, telling the audience: "This is an incredible opportunity to talk about issues that really matter. Sport is a critical part of every strong community. Legacy is not something that happens to you. It is something that happens by you."
Also contributing and engaging in in a gathering unprecedented in either Scottish or Commonwealth sport were Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Government’s Minister for External Affairs and International Development, Councillor Archie Graham, Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council and Executive Member for the Commonwealth Game, Mel Young, Founder of the Homeless World Cup and Rimla Akhtar, Chair of the Muslim Women's Sports Foundation.
Participants contributed to the development of a core framework of rights and values for future Commonwealth Games host cities to consider when hosting major sporting events. Unicef, one of Glasgow 2014’s Charity Partners and a Global Partner of Beyond Sport, also played a key role in focusing debate on how future Commonwealth Games can best protect and promote children’s rights.
Beyond The Games, powered by Dell, was uniquely backed by Glasgow 2014, the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Caledonian University.
Beyond Sport’s Global Partners are Barclays, TIME, ESPN and UNICEF.