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For the power of sport, which with its Values and Principles brings peoples all over the world closer together, cultivates a spirit of peace, cooperation and solidarity with each other and drastically affects societies and especially the new generation, spoke the Deputy Minister of Culture and Sport, Lefteris Avgenakis, at the Ministerial Meeting on Youth and Sport of the "Southeast European Cooperation Process" (SEECP) , organised in Istanbul. The "Southeast European Cooperation Process" began as an initiative of Greece and Bulgaria in 1996 for inter-Balkan cooperation and continues uninterrupted for these 25 years.
At the Meeting of Ministers for Youth and Sport, where, apart from Greece and host Turkey, eight other Southeast European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro, Moldova, Romania) participated, Mr. Avgenakis stressed in particular the need to strengthen the Ideals of the Olympic Games and to join them as a guide:
"The Olympic Games teach the common, harmonious and peaceful coexistence of athletes from different social and cultural cultures. Peace, well-being and noble competition are essential ingredients for the society we want to have", stressed the Deputy Minister of Sport and pointed out that:
"With a view to strengthening the institution of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, our countries work together to formulate and support proposals related to the Olympic Truce. To take appropriate steps to contribute to the revival of the Olympic Truce and its consolidation into the global collective consciousness as an effective instrument for ending, at least, global conflicts, based on the event of the Olympic Games itself."
Mr Avgenakis' proposal was enthusiastically welcomed and is expected to be included in the Joint Declaration of the next Meeting of Ministers for Youth and Sport.
In fact, the following have already been added to the Joint Declaration on the Olympic Games:
"We support proposals and collaborative practices developed to promote Olympic values and ideals.
We take care to act in the Olympic spirit, with mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and in the light of well-being, contributing to the building of a peaceful and better world through sport."
