(ATR) Generations For Peace founder Prince Feisal Al-Hussein tells Around the Rings delegates to his organization’s peace-building camps rarely know what to expect but never leave disappointed.
ATR spoke exclusively with Prince Feisal as GFP’s second-straight Sochi camp came to a close last week.
ATR: Discuss some of the feedback you’ve received from the bright young minds who have participated in the camp here in Sochi.
Prince Feisal: Some of the feedback from here and also from other camps that we’ve received is that when people come here, it’s not what they expect. It’s very easy to explain that it’s a 10-day program, broken up into this and that, but when people come and experience it and see for themselves – see the dynamics, see the energy, see the passion that these delegates exhibit – it’s a very different experience from what they’re expecting.
This is an opportunity for people from different parts of the world, different conflicts, to come together, exchange ideas and really build up that energy, and I think that always exceeds expectations.
When I ask the delegates "Is this what you were expecting?" they say "no" and I think that’s a good thing. It ends up being so much more.
ATR: It seems like an exciting time for GFP and also for Sochi. Discuss your involvement with Sochi, now as a partner, with the future Winter Olympic host city.
PF: I think the strength of the relationship and work we are doing is that we share common values. When you look at Olympism, it’s all about bringing people together – the power of sport to unify the world to bring people from all parts of the world together to compete. At the end of the Games, they enter the stadium, not behind their individual flags, but as part of the world community. I think that’s the strength that the Olympics have.
Our association with Sochi 2014 is a very natural partnership. I think they’re very keen on looking at building legacies and taking what Olympism and the Olympic values have to offer, put it into a practical sense and really help change things on the ground.
It has been a fantastic partnership. We’re very glad to be here for a second time and we hope to continue that in the future.
ATR: We look at the globalization of sport within the Olympic Movement now and the importance of reaching new markets with the Winter Olympics to be held for the first time in Russia and then in South Korea. As an IOC member and president of the Jordan Olympic Committee, do you see a time when a Jordanian might represent your country in the Winter Olympics?
PF: I hope so. I think the challenge is not findingindividuals who are willing, but obviously who meet world standards. We have a couple people that we are looking at and hopefully if they demonstrate that they have the potential, they can participate.
We would love to be able to participate. Maybe people think of the Middle East as being more desert and dry, but in Amman we do get snow every now and then, not enough to really ski, of course. I think the Olympics is all about taking part and working together, and we hope we will have some people in the near future.
ATR: An example of that is your fellow IOC member Prince Albert II of Monaco, who was a five-time Olympian in bobsleigh and now brings that experience to the IOC.
PF: I cannot claim to have been an Olympian, but I have a sister who competed in the Olympics, Princess Haya, and she is now head of the International Equestrian Federation.
My late father was passionate about sports. He was always a great sportsman and encouraged all of us in the family to get involved and be part of the sporting movement. I’m hoping to be able to continue in that tradition and pass it along to our children.
ATR: Having delegates from Georgia here in Sochi participating in the program for the first time must be another "small victory" – as you like to talk about at GFP – and another example of the program continuing to cross new borders.
PF: Georgia has had its problems, and I think it has been very important that they could be here to participate. They have their own challenges, and it is a great opportunity to use the power of sports to bring people together.
In talking with some of those delegates, they said it has been a wonderful experience to be able to talk, work and interact, even with their Russian counterparts, and see that common sense of purpose and willingness to make a difference in their countries, regions and among their peoples.
I think this has been a very powerful tool. The victory isn’t the fact that they’re here. The victory will be when they start going back to their countries, working on these programs, and in the future hopefully coordinating and bringing people together.
ATR: We’re two years and four months away from the Winter Games here in Sochi. If you could attend any event in 2014, which would it be?
PF: It’s difficult to sit there and say there will be one outstanding event. Looking at events, I think ice hockey and figure skating are among the top and I would enjoy both, but some of the skiing is also extremely challenging and quick-paced. I can’t say any one, but hockey and figure skating are definitely there.
Interview conducted in Sochi by Brian Pinelli
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