With the chief goal of advancing United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through ‘Sport for Climate Action’ and Glasgow Declaration, organisers of the sixth edition of the African Sports Tourism Week recently changed the name and advanced the direction of Africa’s premier and pan-African sports travel trade event. The sport and tourism event has metamorphosed into ‘Sport, Tourism and Diplomacy Forum’.
Held in partnership with Radisson Blu Ikeja, where the event was hosted, the collaboratory participation by the United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and LaLiga saw the platform as a great platform to promote and create awareness about the works that they do through the SDGs.
Also in attendance were delegates of United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
In his opening speech, IOM Chief of Mission to Nigeria, Mr. Laurent Beck said that “unfortunately, sport and hospitality represent the space where we see a lot of human trafficking in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Wherever you find human suffering caused by illegal trafficking; there IOM steps in”.
Represented by Head of IOM Lagos Sub-Office, Mr. Victor Lutenco, the Chief of Mission further said: “The traffickers and smugglers in their organised networks are the ones coordinating the migration pathways, using sport as recruitment platform. This is why IOM in partnership with government is trying to help with this talent/ skills exchange pathways that make migration safe, by providing corridors of support. This is how we play our part in advancing SDG target 10.7 in Nigeria”.
Asked how the work that UN IOM does are related to tourism, Beck said that tourism is a demo version for migration, therefore, the hospitality and banking industries are very crucial in the fight against human trafficking, because the people in these two sectors come in direct contact with these traffickers. Financial records are able to show red flags.
“Nigeria, to many people out there, is a subcontinent given its diverse and vast geographical, linguistic, ethnic and cultural heritage. So, it’s important for Nigeria to be able to receive and manage safe movement internally. Need I also add that one of Nigeria’s most robust resources is its diaspora”? he added.
LaLiga Global Network Delegate to Nigeria and Ghana, Mr. Desmond Chili, who led the LaLiga Talk, spoke on how the Spanish brand uses public diplomacy to blend in and help the communities where the institution finds itself. He said: “Our idea is not just to help the communities, but also to be part of the communities. We believe in creating opportunities and pathways to global stage for talents in these communities. This, we believe, inspires others and encourages them to aspire to greater heights. This is what we are currently doing in partnership with Nigeria Women Football League. We are big on gender equality, which is one of the SDGs.
“We believe in what we are building with IOM and Sport, Tourism and Diplomacy Forum, because sport is a major driver of tourism. We see sport as a tool for diplomacy, peace and development. Sport is both a tourism product and a tourism platform. Both sport and tourism are interrelated and complimentary to each other. Both are powerful forces for development. Spain is a proof of what these two can do for a nation’s economy and social strata, and for us, education must go hand in hand with sport, because not everyone will make it in football. Those who don’t make it in soccer can find usefulness for themselves and the society, with the education they’ve gotten.
Through the LaLiga Academy, we are driving exchanges that are developmental in nature, between Nigeria and Spain and both the Spanish Consulate and Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are carried along”.
The Convener/Founder of Sport, Tourism and Diplomacy Forum, Soókò Deji Ajomale-McWord said: “According to UNWTO, sports tourism generates around 10 per cent of world’s expenditure on tourism and is estimated to have a growth rate of 17.5% between 2023 and 2030. Sports tourism is $500.32 billion industry.
“The global travel market contributed US$7.7 trillion in 2022 to gross domestic products. You can imagine the size of the carbon footprints from industries that can churn out figures like the ones aforementioned. This is why we believe that COP29 will do well to specially accommodate robust and solution oriented conversations around Glasgow Declaration and ‘Sport For Climate Action”.
On why the event changed gear in the direction of sustainability, Ajomale-McWord said: “Sustainability is no longer a fancy word thrown around by fancy people. Our very continual existence on this planet is dependent upon it. Sustainability is now the concern of even a discerning market woman, and we need to improvise ways to indigenize communication on sustainability, in a way that market women can understand, because each and everyone of us have carbon footprint and many are the masses than the fancy”.
He further said that lack of a single global body governing sport like tourism has UNWTO (and WTTC for the private sector) could slow it down from playing its part in climate action, but responsible leadership at the helm of affairs, at the federations and confederations can step up to the plate.
Senior Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Sports, Hon. Damilare Orimoloye, and Special Adviser to Benue State Governor on Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Dr. Elizabeth Idoko-Okogun spoke extensively on ongoing sports and youth development programmes and projects, and ones in the pipeline in their respective states.
