AusLeisure

Athletics legend Carl Lewis is backing Doha Goals, a new initiative designed to develop the use of sport as a driver for social and economic change.

The inaugural annual Forum, which will take place from 10th to 12th December 2012 aims to build a community of hundreds of key influencers from all spheres of life who believe sport is a crucial vehicle for social and economic development.

Three of those influencers are among the speakers at the Forum later this year: Oscar Pistorius, the first ever Paralympian to compete at an Olympic Games; multiple Olympic gold medallist, swimmer Mark Spitz and Lewis.

The athletics legend and multi-Olympic gold medallist explains "sport creates opportunities for communities: athletes from small countries and impoverished areas can compete on the global stage and shine a spotlight on their communities. This in turn creates economic opportunities at home, opens the outside world to seeing and understanding new cultures, and empowers athletes to use the public platform for good."

Lewis has his own Foundation, focusing on sports in education, and serves as a volunteer athletics coach at his old high school in New Jersey. He also has an active role as a UN ambassador.

He adds "after more than 30 years of being in the public eye, I have a global voice. You have to ask yourself: how can I use my voice to remain relevant and to make a difference?"

Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, Executive Director of Doha GOALS, says "we(want) the inaugural annual Doha Goals Forum ... to make a tangible difference (and) to produce initiatives to tackle challenges to society and work on developing and improve key areas within sport."

Richard Attias, the former producer of the World Economic Forum in Davos, will produce Doha Goals in association with Qatar's Aspire Zone Foundation.

He adds "sport has the power to bring about great social integration, as well as bring communities together in a spirit of trust and friendship.

"Doha Goals is a call to action that will bring together a community of policymakers and government officials, heads of business, athletes, NGOs and students to build a roadmap for how we can harness this power to improve societies around the world."

The Forum structure will include plenary sessions, debates, and focused taskforces to facilitate constructive brainstorming and focused collaboration using pioneering technology.

The objectives of the Forum were dictated by a taskforce of more than 50 of the leading policymakers, innovators, sports scientists, physicians, federations heads, academics, athletes, corporate executives and competitors who gathered for a Pre-Forum event in January 2012.

This group, which included top executives from FC Barcelona, IMG, Coca-Cola, as well as federation heads, and past and present athletes, debated economic development, the commercialisation of sports, the welfare of athletes, and sport as a vehicle for tourism growth.

For more information contact dohagoals@richardattiasassociates.com, www.dohagoals.com

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