▲ Dr. Stephan Fox, the vice-president of SportAccord and Dr. Chungwon Choue, the president of World Taekwondo took the commemorative photograph after awarding the 'Combat Sport Initiative of the Year' of Paece and Sport Award 2023 [Source from= World Taekwondo(WT)]     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

World Taekwondo (WT, President Dr. Chungwon Choue) and the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) was awarded the ‘Combat Sport Initiative of the year’ at the Peace and Sport Awards 2023 in recognition of the impactful work in supporting underprivileged communities around the world on Wedenesday 18th October in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

The 'Peace and Sport  Awards 2023' was held at the Cultural Palace of the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh, the capital city of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the 'Peace and Sport Middle-East Forum' ahead of the World Combat Games that organized by SportAccord(President Ivo Ferriani, Former GAISF). The Combat Sport Award category aims to reward an initiative using combat sports towards a positive impact for communities, teaching values through sport.

This year’s 'Hope and Dreams Sports Festival' organised by WT and the THF received special praise as a best practice that deserves to be highlighted and recognised. The festival was held for the first time this year in Jordan on 25-27th February and gave refugees and displaced persons the opportunity to compete in Taekwondo and Baseball5 competitions.

The festival was organised by WT and the THF in collaboration with the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) and took place in the Azraq Refugee Camp and Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Around 300 young refugee athletes of all age categories took part, including a refugee team from Afghanistan.

The 'Hope and Dreams Sports Festival' is the culmination of the calling of WT and the THF to Olympic and non-Olympic sports in April 2018 to join hands in giving refugees and displaced persons opportunities to enjoy sport. The festival is a fantastic enabler of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Olympic Agenda 2020+5.

Dr. Choue, the President of World Taekwondo and chair of the THF, said: “We are very proud to have received this award in recognition of the work World Taekwondo and the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation are doing to support refugees and displaced persons around the world. It is fantastic to see so many other wonderful initiatives being undertaken by other combat sports and we commend all those who were shortlisted for this award."