BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Dato Seri Setia Awang Nazmi Mohamad attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris, France, where he witnessed the participation of Brunei Darussalam’s contingent in the parade.
Director of Youth and Sports Hajah Umi Kalthum Abdul Karim as the Chef de Mission led the Brunei contingent comprising two secretariat officers, two coaches, two athletes in aquatic swimming and one athlete in athletics.
The ceremony began with remarks by President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee Tony Estanguet, followed by a speech from President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach and French President Emmanuel Macron declaring the Paris 2024 Olympic Games open.
Prior to the ceremony, the minister attended the ‘Change the Game’ Ministerial Forum at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) headquarters on July 24.
The forum, themed ‘Building More Equal and Sustainable Sporting Legacies’, provided a platform for ministers, sports organisations, athletes and other stakeholders to discuss the role of sports in sustainable development.
The forum also featured presentations on Unesco’s flagship sport programme ‘Fit for Life’, focusing on advancing inclusive practices, policies and programmes for quality physical education and gender equality in sports.
Meanwhile, on July 25, Dato Seri Setia Awang Nazmi attended the 11th Commonwealth Sports Ministers Meeting (11CSMM), chaired by Canada’s Minister of Sport and Physical Activity Carla Qualtrough.
The meeting themed ‘Building Inclusive and Resilient Societies through Sport’ promoted consensus and cooperation on crucial sport policy issues within the Commonwealth, specifically in good governance and human rights in sport and intersectoral approaches for Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) policy coherence, demonstrating impact to stimulate investment, and how to achieve this through a more united Commonwealth.
Permanent Secretary (Sports) at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Pengiran Mohd Amirrizal Mahmud accompanied the minister. – Borneo Bulletin/ANN
