- UNITAR Division for Prosperity Director Mihoko Kumamoto attended the 2023 Sport for Future consortium conference in Tokyo, on 2 March 2023.
- Hiroshima Yokogawa Sports Culture Club, a UNITAR partner, was awarded the annual prize for consortium members for promoting gender equality and peace through sports and international collaboration.
- UNITAR and the Yokogawa Club have been partners since 2015 in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals through sports. The two organizations hosted the Afghanistan national women’s football team in Hiroshima for leadership training and cultural exchange.
- The partnership has led to new activities with the Hiroshima City University and UNITAR Association.
UNITAR
3 March 2023, Hiroshima, Japan – UNITAR Division for Prosperity Director Mihoko Kumamoto attended the Sport for Future consortium conference in Tokyo on 2 March 2023. The conference showcased leading initiatives that foster the values of sports in Japan and around the world.
As a conference highlight, Japan Sports Agency Commissioner Mr Koji Murofushi presented the Hiroshima Yokogawa Sports Culture Club with the annual award that recognizes Sport for Future consortium members for their outstanding work. We congratulate the Yokogawa Club!
UNITAR has been collaborating with the Yokogawa Club since 2015 when our two organizations hosted the Afghanistan women’s national football team in 2015 for a friendly match with Ange Violet, the Hiroshima team managed by the Yokogawa Club. The Afghanistan team was in Hiroshima for the UNITAR Leadership and Communication Training Programme.
Our partnership to promote women’s and youth empowerment, gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals were formalized in 2021. The collaboration has since led to UNITAR and the Yokogawa Club being joined by the Hiroshima City University and UNITAR Association for a 2022 student learning project to explore gender equality, peace and sports.
The project culminated in a public webinar “Sports Development for Development and Peace: Peacebuilding and Women Empowerment through Sports in Hiroshima”, where UNITAR Goodwill Ambassador and former Olympian Dai Tamesue joined Ange Violet football player Ms Yoshino Watariya and UNITAR alum and former co-captain of the Afghanistan women’s national football team Dr. Hajar Abulfazl to reflect on the role of sports in peacebuilding and women’s empowerment.
At the Sport for Tomorrow conference, Director Kumamoto expressed to Sports Commissioner Murofushi her hopes for further collaboration.
“The recognition of our Hiroshima partner Yokogawa Club is a validation of the collaboration among players who each bring their strengths to the team. We hope to see more of such collaboration to create learning opportunities for peace and sustainable development,” said Director Kumamoto.
About Sport for Tomorrow
Sport for Tomorrow consortium is a network of private and public organizations in Japan who promote the values of sport to people of all generations around the world. The Sports Agency Commissioner prize is awarded annually to members for promoting international cooperation through sports.
About UNITAR
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations. In 2021, UNITAR trained 370,139 learners around the world to support their actions for a better future. In addition to our headquarters in Geneva, we have offices in Hiroshima, New York, Bonn and various networks around the world.
One of the eight divisions of UNITAR, the Division for Prosperity, based in the Hiroshima Office and Geneva Headquarters, seeks to shape an inclusive, sustainable and prosperous world. World-class learning and knowledge-sharing services on entrepreneurship, leadership, finance and trade, digital technologies, and nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are offered. We empower individuals from developing countries – especially women and young people – to address inequalities. Our alumni are making a difference in least-developed countries, countries emerging from conflict, and small-island developing states.