A happier childhood for boys and girls all over the world. This is the central idea of the proposal that Rio 2016 will present on Monday (26 October) at the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in New York. Its aim is to protect and promote the rights of children in all countries, using sport and education as tools for transformation.

The proposal will form part of the Olympic Truce resolution, an initiative led by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that is adopted by the UN General Assembly in the year before each edition of the Games. Based on the ancient Olympic truce, it was re-established in 1992 with the aim of protecting athletes and sport, and encouraging peaceful solutions to the conflicts around the world.

Peace, love and ping-pong… 18 times that sport made the world a better place

Rio 2016 has already been working to promote education through sport for some time. Since 2013, the Rio 2016 education programme – known as Transforma in Portuguese – has benefited  about three million children. The programme promotes the Olympic values – excellence, friendship and respect – and the practice of sports in schools. It provides training for teachers and students across Brazil and shares teaching materials with educators around the world.  

Teachers in schools in some of the most deprived areas of Rio de Janeiro have reported reductions in the amount of fights and thefts, and a stronger sense of community, as a result of the ideals of team-work promoted by the Rio 2016 education programme.