Urban sports were discussed on the first day of the Peace and Sport Forum ©Peace and Sport

Urban sports and human rights were on the agenda on the first day of the Peace and Sport International Forum here. 

The opening day began at Stade Louis II, where a number of Champions for Peace took part in a training session with local schoolchildren. 

Kenya's former world marathon record holder Tegla Loroupe, French taekwondo Olympic bronze medallist Marlène Harnois, American Para-table tennis athlete Leibovitz Tahl and French basketball player Florent Piétrus were all involved. 

An afternoon of debates then took place here. 

The first was entitled "Unleashing the potential of new and urban sport for social good".

Morinari Watanabe of Japan, International Olympic Committee member and International Gymnastics Federation President, delivered the keynotes speech, discussing the urban sports that are set to feature at Tokyo 2020 and the importance of including them on the Olympic programme. 

The topic was then debated further by International Festival of Extreme Sports founder Hervé André-Benoît, International Teqball Federation head of diplomatic relations and corporate social responsibility Gergely Muranyi and BMX freestyle pro rider Alex Jumelin. 

The first day of the Peace and Sport session begun with a coaching session between several Champions of Peace and local schoolchildren at the Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo ©ITG
The first day of the Peace and Sport session begun with a coaching session between several Champions of Peace and local schoolchildren at the Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo ©ITG

Another debate called "Funding innovation for social change" was taking place in a different room. 

The next session, "Putting respect for human rights at the heart of sport", saw World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won talk alongside Sport Ethics Committee President Veronique Lebar and the Centre for Sports and Human Rights chief executive Mary Harvey. 

Former karate world champion and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs sport ambassador Laurence Fischer joined the panel, as did John Morrison, The Institute for Human Rights and Business chief executive.   

Issues such as refugees and sport, safeguarding and sportswashing were discussed. 

Another debate, entitled "Education through sustainable peace through sport", ran in parallel. 

A whole day of debates and speeches is scheduled for tomorrow, with topics ranging from sustainability, technology, philanthropy and gender equality. 

The Peace and Sports Award Gala will then be held in the evening, with athletes such as Siya Kolisi of South Africa, Carli Lloyd of the United States, Marin Čilić of Croatia and Eric Abidal of France all nominated.