"When the Body Fails, Let the Mind Push Further" Sports: A Means for Instilling Positive Behavior
Theme V - Session 5C
Sharm El Sheikh: September 3, 2007:
: The last session of final day of the International Youth Forum was entitled Sports: A Means for Instilling Positive Behavior. Held in Sphinx Hall the session was well attended by a diverse group of participants as well as Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak.
"Sport is the basic school of life. It allows personality building: you learn to win, lose, accept guidelines, respect your teamwork, acknowledge the contribution, have a will, focus and keep eyes on a goal," stated Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Sports for Development and Peace.
Moderated by Ismail El Shafei, Member of the Board of Directors of the International Tennis Federation, the session highlighted the importance of sports as a platform for personality building, health improvement and career development.
"Basketball was an education, a scholarship, and the college that my parents couldn't afford. It was my opportunity to do many things: to teamwork, learn about myself, to set make decisions and to respect rituals," expressed Thurl Bailey, a keynote speaker on leadership and teamwork and professional basketball player. "As a young person, I decided to be different and find a tool that I can use to be that first person to do something concrete with his life and come back and benefit the environment."
The enlightening session also featured outstanding athletes and key sport figures including Omar El Samra, the first Egyptian to climb Mount Everest, and Rania Elwani, Chairman of the Women Commission at the Arab Federation of Sports and three-time Olympic swimmer.
As a medical doctor and a former athlete, Elwani gave an overview on how sports can vastly improve health conditions and body image. She explained that it builds good mind, spirit, soul, heart and body, emphasizing how sports can keep youth away from bad habits. Further, she pointed out that sports allow people to experience feelings that can not be found elsewhere.
After fulfilling a long life dream reaching the peak of mountain Everest, El Samra commented: "Everest to me was a passion. Passion is something you feel and you hear. I felt my heart beating and heard my soul sing. I felt in love with the beauty of its mountains, the sense of adventure, the challenge of overcoming the weakness of the body and mind. I learned that when the body fails, let the mind push further."