UNITAR launches the inaugural edition of its Executive Diploma in Sports Diplomacy

The programme is particularly timely in light of this week’s upcoming Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Milano-Cortina 2026, one of the world’s most prominent mega sporting events. With millions of spectators on site and close to two billion viewers worldwide, the Games underscore how contemporary sporting events extend far beyond athletic performance, serving as vehicles for diplomatic engagement, international visibility and long-term legacy-building. Drawing inspiration from the Games, the Executive Diploma used mega sporting events as a reference point to explore issues of governance, legacy-building and international cooperation.

The programme offered a practice-oriented introduction to the field, featuring skills-based workshops on leadership in international sport facilitated by Mr Jérôme L’Host, the theory and practice of sports diplomacy facilitated by Mr J. Simon Rofe, and mega sporting event legacy facilitated by Mr Jonathan Miseroy. Participants were also introduced to the work of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the sports-related activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through immersive on-site visits.

The programme further benefited from UNITAR’s established partnerships in the international sport ecosystem, including memoranda of understanding signed with the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the International Canoe Federation (ICF). Thanks to these partnerships, the programme featured a high-level roundtable discussion with prominent leaders such as Lluis Rabaneda Caselles, Vice-President of ICF, Chris Roberts, Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of IBA, Anna Utkina, Director of Development at IBA, André Vögtlin, Chairman of the Social Commission of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), and Jens Holm, Chief Executive Officer of the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), providing valuable reflections on leadership challenges and practices in international sport through practical, real-world perspectives.

In addition, the programme built on the ongoing engagement between UNITAR and the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR), whose Advisory Council UNITAR joined one year ago. CSHR delivered a dedicated seminar on the role of key international human rights frameworks, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), in the sports ecosystem and how to adopt a responsible sport approach.