MADRID, 15 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta, stressed this Monday in his speech at the European Council on Education, Youth, Culture and Sport the power of sport to unite and break down barriers, but warned of the “disputes and conflicts” around competitions sports that must be monitored to “reduce and eliminate hate speech”.
“Sport unites, contributes to health and well-being, breaks down barriers and builds a climate of trust in society. However, within the framework of sports competitions, disputes and conflicts also arise that go beyond sport and that must be taken into account to reduce and eliminate hate speech,” Iceta said in statements provided by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The politician valued the role of sport as an “element of inclusion and cohesion, generator of freedom, respect and tolerance” and emphasized its backbone capacity, beyond its most tangible aspect, as an engine of transformation, employment, progress and development.
In addition, the minister defended the need to continue making progress in guaranteeing equality in sport, in promoting safe environments to practice it and in the need to eradicate hateful behaviour. In this sense, he highlighted the work that LaLiga is already doing in Spain and encouraged the member countries to continue reflecting
about it to create common strategies.
On the other hand, Miquel Iceta also participated in an informal lunch with the rest of the EU Sports Ministers to address how the sports movement can contribute to promoting active life for all ages.
This aspect is one in which Spain is firmly committed and aligned with the initiatives of international organizations on the promotion of beneficial physical activity for health and the fight against a sedentary lifestyle and its consequences on the health of citizens through different Plans and Strategies.
Specifically, the minister cited the Kazan Action Plan (2017) that marks the commitment to link the development of sports policies with the United Nations 2030 Agenda; the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030 of the World Health Organization, which seeks to encourage people to lead an active life to achieve a healthier world; and the United Nations 2030 Agenda, which considers sport as a tool for sustainable development.
Iceta valued the different initiatives launched by
the Ministry of Culture and Sport to promote sports activities such as the European Sports Week; the National Strategy for the Promotion of Sports against Sedentary Lifestyle and Physical Inactivity; and within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, a group of actions aimed at promoting equality in sport, generating opportunities, improving social cohesion and facilitating the protection and integration of young people and groups at risk of exclusion in sport .
The Spanish minister will take advantage of the fact that this is the last formal Council for Culture and Sports before Spain assumes the presidency of the European Union to hold bilateral meetings with several of his counterparts and thus move forward.
In fact, this Monday he already met with the Minister of Sports, Olympic and Paralympic Games of France, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, while he will also hold meetings with his French counterparts, Rima Abdul, Slovenia, Asta Vrecko; Germany, Claudia Roth; Italy, Gennaro Sangiuliano; Sweden, Parisa Lijestrand; Netherlands, Gunay Uslu; Croatia, Nina Obuljen Korzinek; Bulgaria, Nayden Todoro, and Romania, Lucian Romasçanu.