The United Nations (UN) special adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke, on July 15 and 16 was presented to projects currently underway in the city to improve people’s living conditions that were propelled by the staging of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Lemke’s visit to the projects was an invitation from the Rio 2016 Organising Committee president, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, made during the Sport, Peace and Development Forum that was organised last May in Geneva, Switzerland, in a partnership between the UN and the International Olympic Committee.

On Friday morning, Wilfried Lemke was given a presentation on the Games overall project at the Rio 2016 Organising Committee headquarters. The presentation addressed the transformations the city has already undergone, which are being propelled by the event, as well as its sport, social and economic legacy.

In the afternoon, Lemke was invited by Nuzman to visit the Rio Operations Centre, where he was welcomed by Mayor Eduardo Paes. Lemke was briefed on two key housing programmes currently in progress: the Morar Carioca project, which is going to integrate all Rio slums with the city until 2020, with R$ 8 billion-worth (around US$ 4 billion) in investments benefiting 260,000 homes; and the Minha Casa, Minha Vida programme, which is expected to build 56,000 house units by the end of 2011.

On Saturday morning, alongside Rio 2016 Sport director, Agberto Guimarães, Wilfried Lemke visited the Cidade de Deus (City of God) community’s Youth Reference Centre, in West Rio. He was welcomed at the site by Rio de Janeiro state’s Public Security secretary, José Mariano Beltrame. The Youth Reference Centre was set up in Cidade de Deus in a partnership with the local Police Pacifying Unit (UPP in the Portuguese acronym) and provides the local population with access to educational and sports activities. The initiative is already being rolled out in other UPPs across the city.

In the afternoon, alongside Olympic Municipal Company’s executive director, Bernardo Carvalho, Lemke had the opportunity to visit two Minha Casa, Minha Vida projects. They visited the site of the Bairro Carioca works, a housing development that is set to benefit some 10,000 people at a piece of land formerly owned by electricity company Light and acquired by the municipality. They also visited a housing development in the Mangueira community, where Lemke had the opportunity to chat with local residents.

“I am pleased to see that Rio is using sport as a tool for the development of the city and, I shall also add, for peace. I have suggested to the Games organisers and the government that potential young leaders identified in these projects be directed to a UN programme that fosters leadership and positive examples in deprived communities”, said Lemke.

“I am delighted that Mr. Lemke was appreciative of the social programmes boosted by the Rio 2016 Games and that are positively transforming the city. One of our main objectives is to create a social and sporting legacy for our youth. We will continue to strive for that goal alongside partners such as the UN," added Nuzman.