ICSS joins forces with the United Nations to support the security preparations of the International Swimming in Open Sea Championship and the Indian Ocean Games that Maldives will host in 2023 and 2025

The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) together with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) delivered Technical Assistance to the Republic of the Maldives on the security of major sporting events and on the use of sport to promote inter-cultural dialogue, peace and resilience.

Hosted in Malé, capital of country, by the Maldives Government, the Technical Assistance was provided from the 10th to the 13th of October, as a part of a programme which started in the month of August this year.

The programme aims at strengthening capacities to protect sport events from different security threats and using sport for the promotion of peace and resilience within society, also in view of the organization of the International Swimming in Open Sea Championship and the Indian Ocean Games that Maldives will host in 2023 and 2025 respectively.

The four-day programme, led by UNOCT, brought together experts from the ICSS the other UN partners along with representatives from the National Sports Council at the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Community Empowerment National Counter Terrorism Center of Maldives.

The assistance was provided within the framework of the multi-year Global Programme on the Security Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and Its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism (Global Sports Programme), an initiative made possible by the generous support of the State of Qatar, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea.

The assistance provided in Male’ included of a series of theoretical content, training and practical simulations of real-life scenarios to help participants understand in greater depth the importance of security planning and prevention, as well as investment in preparation for potential threats.

Participants improved their ability to identify challenges on major events security, use the values of sport to promote peace and resilience in their own work environment, as well as their

understanding of enforcement of mitigation measures to manage incidents towards a lasting legacy.

Massimiliano Montanari, Chief Executive Officer of the ICSS, said: “Sport have suffered a tremendously this year across continents, some of the darkest months we have ever seen. The wave of gangs’ violence which invaded football matches in Mexico and Argentina, the victims of the crush outside a stadium during African Cup in Cameroon, and the recent 174 people killed and 180 injured in Indonesia. And the list of longer.

Our Global Programme is an effort to prevent future tragedies and give sport back to families and peaceful supporters. In this regard, the cooperation with sporting events host authorities and governments from countries of any size and at all latitudes is essential to achieve such a goal.”