(London, August 1 2012): Government leaders, Olympic legends and some of the world’s biggest sports sponsors gathered in London last night for the launch of Doha GOALS, a new initiative designed to develop the use of sport as a driver for social and economic change.

Doha GOALS — Gathering of All Leaders In Sport - was created under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. The initiative, from the Aspire Zone Foundation and Richard Attias & Associates, will build a community of hundreds of key influencers from all spheres of life who believe sport is a crucial vehicle for social and economic development.

Speaking at the event, Lewis said: “Sport creates opportunities for communities: athletes from small countries and impoverished areas can compete on the global stage and shine a spotlight on their communities. This in turn creates economic opportunities at home, opens the outside world to seeing and understanding new cultures, and empowers athletes to use the public platform for good."

Agreeing was Pérec, who pointed to Lewis as a source of personal inspiration. She said: “When I was 20, and saw Carl win gold in the 1988 Olympics, I looked at the way he conducted himself as a champion. I said to myself, ‘I want to become a champion like that, four years from now.” Pérec won Olympic gold in the 400 metres in 1992.

Richard Attias, the former producer of the World Economic Forum in Davos, will produce Doha GOALS. He said: “Sport has the power to bring about great social integration, as well as bring communities together in a spirit of trust and friendship.

“Doha GOALS is a call to action that will bring together a community of policymakers and government officials, heads of business, influential athletes, NGOs and students to build a roadmap for how we can harness this power to improve societies around the world.”

The inaugural, annual Doha GOALS Forum, December 10 — 12, 2012, was announced at a press conference earlier in the day, with His Excellency Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, General Secretary of the Qatar Olympic Committee, Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, Executive Director of Doha GOALS, Lewis and Attias all speaking at the press conference.

Lewis is among the speakers at the December Forum later this year: he will be joined by Oscar Pistorius, who will become the first-ever Paralympian to compete at an Olympic Games, and multiple Olympic gold medallist, swimmer Mark Spitz.

The Forum structure will include plenary sessions, debates, and focused taskforces to facilitate constructive brainstorming and focused collaboration using pioneering technology.

The objectives of the Forum were dictated by a taskforce of more than 50 of the leading policymakers, innovators, sports scientists, physicians, federations heads, academics, athletes, corporate executives and competitors who gathered for a Pre-Forum event in January 2012. This group, which included top executives from FC Barcelona, IMG, Coca-Cola, as well as federation heads, and past and present athletes, debated economic development, the commercialisation of sports, the welfare of athletes, and sport as a vehicle for tourism growth.

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