Rana Sanaullah advocates for sports’ role in social legacies

PARIS: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan, emphasized the significant impact of physical education and sports on creating enduring social legacies during his attendance at the “Change the Game!” Ministerial Forum at UNESCO, Paris.

Participating in the discussion focused on ‘Leveraging Quality Physical Education & Sport for Sustainable Social Legacies,’ he highlighted Pakistan’s commitment to empowering youth through initiatives such as the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme and the Youth Talent Hunt Programme, aimed at not only identifying future athletes but also instilling long-lasting social values.

Apart from participating in the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics and visiting UNESCO headquarters, Rana Sanaullah Khan actively engaged in discussions at the forum on utilizing high-quality physical education and sports to achieve sustainable social outcomes.

He commended UNESCO for organizing such a critical event ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, emphasizing how large-scale sports events unite people globally in healthy competition.

Acknowledging Pakistan’s youthful demographic, with two-thirds of its population under 24 years old, Rana Sanaullah Khan underscored the Prime Minister’s efforts to empower young people through education and active participation.

He stressed that sports not only foster individual resilience and essential skills like leadership and teamwork but also promote international friendships, mutual understanding, cultural diversity celebration, and improve the physical and mental well-being of youth.

The advisor to prime minister appreciated UNESCO for organizing this high-level forum in the run-up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

He added that mega sports events, like Olympics, act as a unifying force in bringing together the entire world in healthy competition – where all of us are winners.

The advisor said that Pakistan is a country of 240 million people and two-thirds of the population is below the age of 24 – making Pakistan one of the youngest countries in the world.

Keeping this in view, the prime minister launched a special initiative, called “Prime Minister’s Youth Programme”, to engage, educate, and empower youth.

He apprised all that under this Programme, a ‘Youth Talent Hunt Programme’ was organized across Pakistan for 12 different games to shortlist future athletes and to impart social values that would be an asset for them for life.

Further a national conference was also organized on ‘Revival of Sports’ to foster a merit-based culture within sports; ensuring that young athletes are selected, trained, and promoted based on their talent and hard work.

Rana Sanaullah said that physical education and sports provide productive pathways for individuals as well as societies to build resilience and skills, such as leadership, communication, team-building, and critical thinking.

He acknowledged that sports also teaches discipline, develops friendship across borders and plays a positive role in promoting mutual understanding; celebrating cultural diversity; and enhancing physical and mental health of youth.

Social legacies, therefore, such as fostering inclusion, community building, volunteerism, and physical activities, are by-product of sports that ensure improvements in our societies, he added.

The advisor said UNESCO has a central role to play in this field and can assist Member States through its capacity building programs on physical education and sports.

Rana Sanaullah emphasised that we all need to support international efforts focused on sports for peace and development and build a bright future for our generations to come.

Ambassador of Pakistan to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Asim Iftikhar Ahmad also attended the event.