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The Second Global
Forum for Sports and Environment (G-ForSE) 2003 again brought together
the representatives of sports federations, the sporting goods industry,
facility owners, municipalities and NPOs to asses progress since
the first Forum in 2001, share ideas on future actions and reward
the best current examples of environmental action in sports with
the G-ForSE Prize.
Organizations
represented at the Forum included the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) with a video address
from the Executive Director, Klaus Toepfer. The International
Olympic Committee (IOC) Sports and Environment Commission was represented
by Masato Mizuno, President of Mizuno Corporation, who
also collected
a G-ForSE Prize for Mizuno’s Global Environmental Conservation
Project,’CREW21’.
The Athens
Environmental Foundation (AEF) presented an outline of its activities
in the run up to the
Athens Summer Olympic in 2004. Executive Director Tony
Diamantidis also outline the organization’s Global Wreath program - an
international effort to plant a Global Olive Wreath on earth as
a living legacy of peaceful dedication to the Ancient Greek Olympic
ideals as well as the modern Olympic ideal of environmental responsibility.’ GSA
has joined the AEF in securing a site to plant a tree in the Far
East in the spring of next year.
The afternoon
session included a roundtable discussion on sports culture and the
results of the
sports and environment questionnaire.
On the
second day of the Forum, participants took an Eco-tour
of sports facilities
that have incorporated
environmental features as well as enjoying the
evenings Eco-concert. The RECYCL’art exhibition of art pieces
made from old or unused sports equipment was held in conjunction
with the Forum,
at the Spiral Garden in Aoyama, Tokyo.
| Title: |
The
Global Forum for Sports and Environment (G-ForSE) 2003 |
| Organized by: |
G-ForSE 2003
Executive Committee |
| Co-organized
by: |
United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), |
| |
NPO Global Sports Alliance (GSA) |
| Time: |
14 –15
November 2003 |
| Place: |
Forum: |
ANA Hotel, Tokyo |
| |
Recyclart Exhibition: |
Spiral Garden |
| |
Sports Eco-tour |
Tokyo Dome and
Saitama Stadium |
| |
Kodo Eco-concert |
Setagaya Public
Theater |
G-ForSE Prize Winners
Announced.
The Prize is presented to the best examples
of environmental action and awareness raising in the
world of sport
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| *Sports Culture Roundtable |
The
afternoon roundtable discussion
on sports culture focused on environmental issues surrounding
sports facilities, sports events
and sporting goods. A selected
panel discussed measures that all areas of sports can take in
tackling environmental problems
and included contributions from
the audience.
Unique examples of environmental
action in sports gathered by G-ForSE were presented as well as
the results of the sports and environment awareness questionnaire,
with the views of the participants included in the results by means
of a totalizer.
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One
of the important issues raised was that of developing
good environmental practices and education among the young.
Dr. Liz Odera of the
Sadili Sports Oval, Kenya, who helps provide environmental
education and sports training to 6400 children in communities
in Langata
and Kibera (Africa’s biggest slum) spoke at the Forum and
is a G-ForSE Prize recipient.
For the sporting
goods industry, a number of problems were raised that are impeding
faster progress
in this area. As a competitive industry, improving
an athlete’s
performance is always the principle focus, with environmental
considerations much further down the agenda. As Andre Gorgemans
of the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industries (WFSGI)
pointed out, measures require consensus throughout the industry
and this takes time. Environmental measures already incorporated,
such as Mizuno Corporation’s Crew 21 and Nike’s Recycle-a-
Shoe program were largely unilateral actions.
As for reusing
sports equipment, a number of programs have been developed
that send
unused or old sports equipment to developing
countries. These can be successful, although Eric Falt of UNEP
threw in a word
of caution about the blanket export of old equipment
to such countries, where there may be no specific need and
thus can simply
end up as garbage. He summarized this idea with
the phrase ‘don’t
send skis to Kenya’
|
| *Sports
and Environment Awareness Questionnaire |
The
results of the questionnaire showed
that overall, environmental awareness within the sports community
was quite low, although
respondents were extremely positive
to the idea of environmentally friendly sporting goods and showed
willingness to take environmental
action at sports events. Through
the questionnaire we not only gained a clearer picture of the
current situation in sports but
managed to increase awareness among
respondents in the process.
|
| *EcoTour |
| About
25 people took part in the tour
of environmentally friendly sports facilities on 15 November,
including members of UNEP and G-ForSE
Prize winners. The morning involved
a tour of Tokyo Dome with its rainwater collection and recycling
system. In the afternoon
the tour dropped in on Saitama
Stadium 2002, which has incorporated ecological features on its
pitch as well as solar panels to help
handle the huge energy demands
of the facility. Participants were impressed with this exclusive
behind-the-scenes look at
large-scale facilities.
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|
| *EcoConcert |
| The
EcoConcert took place on the evening
of 15 November at the Setagaya
Public Theater with the Kodo ‘One
Earth’ Tour Special. 94 G-ForSE
participants viewed the mesmerizing
performance, which mixed traditional
and modern elements and reflected
the art forms natural origins on
Sado Island. The audience was inspired
and reminded of the importance
of coexisting in harmony with nature,
as well as preserving our cultural,
performance and artistic heritage. |
| *RECYCL'art
Prize Winners Exhibition Presented
by Citibank Private Bank |
The
RECYCL'art project, which debuted
at G-ForSE 2001, has been extended
to include entrees from the general
public, and the best submissions
from among
them were put on show from 11-16
November 2003 at Spiral Hall, Tokyo
as part
of G-ForSE 2003.
RECYCL'art combines
sports, environment and art to send
a message that
we
should not casually discard things,
but take care of them and understand
their inherent value. The RECYCL'art
Exhibition stresses the importance
of
'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle'.
Planning and promotion of the
RECYCL'art Exhibition is run by
IGFY
Corporation. For details of the
exhibits and future showings, see
the IGFY
Corporation website at:
http://www.igfy.net/recyclart/
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Supported by: The
Embassy of the United States of America, the Embassy of Italy,
the Embassy of the
Republic of Uganda, the British
Embassy, the Embassy of Ethiopia, the Embassy of Canada,
the Royal Embassy of Cambodia, the Embassy of Greece, the
Royal Thai Embassy,
the Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Embassy
of the People’s Republic of China, the Embassy of Chile, the
Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Embassy of Finland, the Embassy
of the Federal
Republic of Brazil, the Embassy of United Mexican States,
the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Embassy
of Romania, the Embassy
of the Federal Republic of Germany, the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) Sports and Environment Commission, the International
Volleyball
Federation (FIVB), the Japan Sports Industries Federation,
the Association of Japan Sporting Goods Industries, the 2005
World Exposition partnership
project, the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry
(WFSGI), the Athens Environmental Foundation (AEF), the Japan
Ministry of the
Environment, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and
Industry, the Japan Society of Physical Education, Health
and Sports Science, the United Nations University Zero Emissions
Forum, the Japan
Sports Art Association, the Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo office,
the Chunichi Shimbun
Sponsors: SEIA Co., Ltd, RICOH COMPANY LTD, ing Corporation,
Evian (Danone Waters of Japan Co., Ltd), IBM Business Consulting
Service, IGFY Inc., Seishin Co. Ltd, The Citigroup Private
Bank, Toyota Motor
Corporation, X-One Co., Ltd, Aprica Kassai Co., Ltd, The
Swatch Group (Japan) KK Omega Division, TfE Inc., KOKUYO
Co., Ltd, NIKE JAPAN CORP.,
TOD’S Japan KK, The Body Shop
Planning: igfy corporation
Cooperation: George P. Johnson Mitsuya, Sony PCL Inc., Wacoal
Art Center, Kodo, Fellowes Japan KK, ONENESS, Kuwanomi Pro, Studio
GIVE, Mochizuki Printing Co., Ltd, JEXT Co., Ltd
FOUNDATION FOR GLOBAL PEACE AND ENVIRONMENT
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