World Triathlon

World Triathlon President and IOC member, Marisol Casado, has been named a member of the 2022 Sport for One Humanity International Jury, along with Ramata Almamy, Joan Cusco, Victor Ochen and Meredith Whitley. The awards, supported by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), are aimed to select and support innovative sports-based projects that promote a culture of peace, mutual understanding and cooperation among diverse communities and cultures around the world.

“I am delighted to join such an extraordinary group of people, and it will be an honor to analyze all the projects received. I am absolutely convinced that we will find incredibly talented projects, individuals and civil organizations that are already working tirelessly on using and promoting sport as a tool for strengthening diversity and inclusiveness, education and empowerment of youth, women and girls, inclusion of persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups “, said Mrs. Casado.

The universality of sport and its unifying power have been recognized as powerful tools to promote peace, tolerance and understanding. The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, adopted in 2015, explicitly stressed the ‘growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace. Therefore, it is important that the efforts of civil society organizations (CSOs) are supported to maintain and expand their contribution to peace and development as well as other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through sport.

The five members of the Jury are:
- Ms. Ramata Almamy, a sociologist with over 25 years’ experience in public and private sectors, as well as an extensive global network. She is the Director of the Human and Social Sciences Sector at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO).
- Ms. Marisol Casado, President of World Triathlon and IOC member. Ms. Marisol serves in five IOC Commissions, and further serves as a Council Member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and the International Masters Games Association (IMGA).
- Mr. Joan Cuscó is the executive president of Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) that develops and runs Beach Soccer all around the world. In 1985, Mr. Cuscó founded Esedos, a leading sports marketing company in Spain, which joined Octagon Europe network in 2001, where he became the president for the Iberia region.
- Mr. Victor Ochen is the Founder and Executive Director for African Youth Initiative Network, whose mission is to mobilize youth and communities in promoting healthy, peaceful and just society. Born in northern Uganda, Mr. Ochen spent 21 years amidst violent conflict that displaced over 3 million people. While living in the camps, Ochen founded the Peace Club at the age of 13, to counter the child soldiers’ recruitment campaign amidst the war in northern Uganda.
- Meredith A. Whitley, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Sport-Based Youth Development at Adelphi University. Her research explores the complex and multi-faceted roles of sport and Sport for Development programs in the lives of youth from under-resourced communities, along with the interrelated systems impacting youth and community development.