Peace and Sport: touching encounter for Prince Albert II at #WhiteCard 2025 campaign launch
Joël Bouzou, Zakia Khudadadi, the Sovereign and Marlène Nidecker © Communication department - Stéphane Danna
On Tuesday 26 March, with the Sovereign in attendance, Peace and Sport officially launched its #WhiteCard 2025 campaign, a movement that transforms sport into a veritable ‘weapon of mass reconstruction’. Among the guests of honour were Joël Bouzou, founding chairman of the organisation, and Zakia Khudadadi, para-taekwondo athlete and medallist at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, a new Champion for Peace.
More than 460 million children live in areas of conflict today, deprived of the most basic joys of childhood. It is a heartbreaking reality, and the aim of the #WhiteCard initiative is to stand as a beacon of hope.
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“This launch sends out a strong message from Monaco to the international community: we must act to make sport a driving force for peace and education. Thanks to the support of Prince Albert II and our Champions for Peace, we are showing the positive impact of peace through sport programmes for future generations,” Joël Bouzou said at the launch event at Marius Monaco.
“It’s a campaign that has been running for ten years now and it has made a big impact around the world. We saw this with the number of participants last year, and we hope it will be the case again this year. The figure is staggering: almost 500 million children are affected by conflict zones. Sport can help create spaces of well-being for these children, spaces where they can come together. It is an extremely strong, extremely powerful vehicle for peace, so that all these young people can aspire to a better world. I’m extremely happy and proud to be taking part in this evening’s event,” the Prince told the press.
A high-profile cast for a compelling campaign
The Peace and Sport campaign boasts some high-profile ambassadors. Ivorian football legend Didier Drogba, Afghan Paralympic athlete Zakia Khudadadi, American basketball star Mike James and Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal all answered the call. Their message is clear: sport transcends borders, conflicts and differences.
One method, one vision
The Peace and Sport approach, with over 100 athletes representing more than 50 nationalities, is based on a simple but powerful observation: sport is a powerful educational tool. It enables us to pass on essential values – respect, discipline, tolerance – where violence looms.
Yet sport only receives 2% of the world’s education budgets. It’s a paradox that the campaign hopes to change, taking action to influence decision-makers to make sport a priority in education and violence prevention, and in plans for development and peace.
Everyone is invited to raise a #WhiteCard on 6 April 2025, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, A symbolic but powerful gesture.
Zakia Khudadadi: a story of resistance
Zakia Khudadadi is not like most athletes. Her story is a genuine statement of resilience and hope. Originally from Afghanistan, she defied all the odds to become the first refugee athlete to win a medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. A performance praised by the Sovereign.
“I left my country with just a passport, no luggage, nothing, to carry on with my sport and my life,” she says. “In Afghanistan, over 20 million women and their children are banned from sport. It gets worse every day. My dream is to show that it is possible to dream and to win, even in the most difficult situations.”
Her journey is a battle. Arriving in France on 17 August 2021, two days after the Taliban took over, Zakia turned her pain into power. “Sport has given me inner strength and a platform to promote peace and equality,” she explains.
On 8 March, the 26-year-old para-taekwondo athlete joined Peace and Sport’s Champions for Peace club. Today, she is a voice for those who don’t have one. “By raising my #WhiteCard, I am telling all Afghan women and all refugee women that they are not alone. Sport is a universal language of peace, freedom, and dignity. My message is a call for courage, to keep dreaming and fighting for a better future.”