by Romina Concha Sepulveda, ITTF Foundation Social Media and Business Manager
For the second time the International Table Tennis Federation joined Peace and Sport to celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace alongside World Table Tennis Day.
“We are very happy to team up with ITTF in the celebration of April 6th, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, in the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan. On this day, Peace and Sport will bring together high level athletes, international sport federations and local non-governmental organisations committed to stand for refugees. Today more than ever, sport can be used as a vehicle to heal, bring a sense of normalcy and support social inclusion programmes for refugees in host communities and camps.” Joel Bouzou.
In addition to the International Table Tennis Federation, other international federations, such as: as taekwondo and kickboxing were invited to the historical celebration. Different activities organised by the federations were scheduled during the day for refugees.
People in other parts of the world also organised activities to celebrate the World Table Tennis Day; to date 456 events in 94 countries have been registered so far on the official website tt4all.com
“April 6th 2018 marks a significant stepping stone in the history of the ITTF and we are glad to share this date with Peace and Sport, one of the strongest partners of our Development Programme since 2008. Today, we celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, the launching of the ITTF Nittaku Dream Building with Refugees Project, the fourth edition of World Table Tennis Day and the soft inauguration of the non-profit ITTF Foundation aiming to promote solidarity through table tennis. The common factor of these four initiatives is they rely on using sport for positive social outcomes. As an international organisation it is our task to lead by example; and also to motivate others to include acts of integration into their daily lives.” Thomas Weikert
A special day for people at the Za’atari Refugee Camp, Friday 6th April was also a special day for the world of table tennis.
