Peace and Sport and the Union of Modern Pentathlon step up their action in the Great Lakes Region in Africa To mark the official opening of the Congolese Federation of Modern Pentathlon, a Biathle Championship for Peace will be held on October 17 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Backed by Peace and Sport, a neutral international organization, the event heralds the beginning of a long- term commitment to peace in the country. The Biathle Championship, which will take place in Uvira in South Kivu, aims to promote peace and help calm ethnic tensions in this province of the DRC which was hit hard by the war. Despite the official end to fighting in 2002, the population of South Kivu, particularly young people, continue to suffer violence from armed gangs. This region is one of the most disadvantaged in the country, with a poverty rate of 84.7%. The Championship on 17 October will bring together nearly 200 young athletes, all keen to turn the page of war and live in peace. The event is intended to reconcile divided communities, encourage dialogue, foster social stability and create the necessary conditions for sustainable peace. Peace and Sport’s patronage of the event ensures that it will be completely neutral and non-biased. Long-term action for peace through adapted practices This Championship is part of a long-term initiative. After the event, the newly-created Congolese Federation of Modern Pentathlon and Peace and Sport will both give support to programs dedicated to vulnerable youngsters in the region, so that Biathle can be practiced in a structured and supervised environment throughout the year. Created in 1999 by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), Biathle is a new discipline consisting of two of the base events of Modern Pentathlon: running and swimming which is used to nurture youth into the original Olympic sport of Modern Pentahlon. Helping the UIPM to develop Biathle in the DRC replies to one of Peace and Sport’s major objectives: to make sport and its inherent values of peace, tolerance, and fraternity accessible to the widest possible number of people, without social or economic discrimination. Biathle falls into the category of an ‘adapted practice' as it is particularly popular and inexpensive and can be practiced without equipment or infrastructure. It is therefore easy to implement, even in the most deprived areas. President and Founder of Peace and Sport Joel Bouzou, himself a World Champion in Modern Pentathlon, will be present at the first Biathle for Peace Championship in DRC. In 2009, Peace and Sport and the UIPM organized a Biathle Championship for Peace in Burundi, which borders the DRC. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT : PEACE AND SPORT UIPM +33. (0)6.8337.6621 +377 9777 8555 [email protected] [email protected] www.peace-sport.org www.pentathlon.org About Peace and Sport Peace and Sport, L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport is a neutral and apolitical international initiative. Peace and Sport puts sport and its values at the heart of local development projects conducted within communities in crisis around the world. Exercising its missions in post-conflict zones, areas of extreme poverty or lacking social cohesion, Peace and Sport makes sport a vehicle for tolerance, respect, sharing and citizenship at the service of sustainable peace. Supported by governments, world sport governing bodies, international organizations, major international private companies and international sports champions, Peace and Sport creates synergies between different stakeholders to carry out four types of action: - Organizing an annual International Forum (next edition in Monaco, 1 - 3 December 2010) - a Resource Centre for sport and peace, - The Peace and Sport Awards, to reward individuals and initiatives contributing to peace, - Locally-Based Projects; concrete actions in different regions of crisis in the world. Today, Peace and Sport has operations in Cote d'Ivoire, Burundi, Israel-Palestine, Timor Leste, Colombia and in Haiti. Peace and Sport was founded by Joel Bouzou, current President of the organisation. Mr. Bouzou is an Olympic medallist, world champion of Modern Pentathlon and current Secretary General for the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM). He is also an Advisor to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. PENTATHLON IN THE ANCIENT GAMES 708 BC - Lampis of Sparta won the first ancient Pentathlon MODERN PENTATHLON 1912 - Stockholm: First time in the Olympic Programme 1948 - London: UIPM was born 1996 – Atlanta: First time all 5 events competed in one day at Olympics 1998 – Budapest, Mexico, Monaco, Olympia and Lausanne: UIPM 50 Years Anniversary 2000 – Sydney: First time for women in the Olympic Programme 2004 – Athens: Pentathlon home after 2712 years 2010 – Singapore: First ever Youth Olympic Games 2012 – London: 100 Years of Modern Pentathlon in the Olympic Games 2012 – Stockholm: Centenary Congress .