Outside view of the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, where the AIPS Centennial will take place (Photo: UNESCO/P. Chiang-Joo)

The Centennial celebration of AIPS at UNESCO headquarters, set for Tuesday, August 6th, 2024, is part of a valuable partnership agreement between both organisations.  

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the United Nations’ lead agency for physical education and sport, and as such promotes sport for development by leveraging the power of sport to achieve the sustainable development goals.

The International Sports Press Association (AIPS), founded in Paris in 1924, operates to defend sport and the professional independence of journalism, working for the common interests between sports journalists of all nations. Committed to invest in the education of future generations of journalists, AIPS has developed the AIPS Young Reporters Programme, which consists in a series of intensive seminars organised to cover top sporting events, and since 2018 AIPS is also founder and organiser of the AIPS Sport Media Awards, the highest international accolade in the sport media industry, that also offers special commendations to those whose work represents the core values of AIPS. 

These values include defending Human Rights & gender equality, combatting racism and all forms of discrimination, promoting a clean sports environment, offering hope through sports, promoting sports as an answer to violence in conflict zones, contributing to the development of women’s sport, and raising awareness about mental health, among others.  

COMMON GOALS UNESCO and AIPS recognise the importance of sport for physical and mental health and wellbeing; underline that sport is a powerful policy tool that can foster inclusive and resilient societies; and acknowledge the importance to communicate about sport and sport values for societal goals.

As such, UNESCO and AIPS wish to join forces and collaborate to leverage their respective competencies and networks to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

FRUITFUL COLLABORATION This partnership included participation of AIPS in the Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination, that took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last year; UNESCO’s support to AIPS Young Reporters Programmes through providing inputs and specific training modules used to educate Young Reporters about sport for development and sports values; UNESCO participation in the AIPS Congress in Santa Susanna, 2024; AIPS coverage of the Fit for Life UNESCO’s events related to sports; AIPS’ engagement in a Fit for Life gender equality training for sports journalists and institutional media officers focused on tackling toxic and sexist coverage of women’s sport and building capacities for inclusive sport coverage more generally.

CELEBRATION AND FUTURE And, of course, this agreement also includes the centennial celebration of AIPS at UNESCO headquarters and the ceremony of Journalists on the Podium in which AIPS gives special recognition to journalists who have covered more than 10 Olympics in their career.

At the same time, AIPS and UNESCO intend to undertake a strategic dialogue aimed at exploring other areas of possible collaboration for which they could leverage their respective expertise and networks, with a view to building a lasting shared-value partnership.

To find out more about the world-famous UNESCO building, click here

To find out more about the champions that will be present, click here.

To find out about Puccini 100 + AIPS 100 and Nessun Dorma as official anthem, click here