On 15 June 2026, André de Jeu, Board Member of ACES and representative of the Association of Sport and Municipalities, took part in the UNESCO CIGEPS meeting in Paris. CIGEPS is UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport. For the 2026–2027 period, the Committee consists of eighteen Member States: Albania, Chile, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Finland, Jamaica, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

During the meeting Gohar Nabil, minister Youth and Sports from Egypt was chosen as the new chair of CIGEPS. On behalf of ACES, André de Jeu congratulated him on his election and expressed support for continued international cooperation on inclusive, equitable and safe sport.

The meeting focused on UNESCO’s agenda for inclusive, equitable and safe sport and physical education, the further development of the Global Policy Standards, the Global Sport Policy Survey and the Fit for Life Digital Dashboard. Safe Sport and Disability Inclusion were also key themes. Contributions were made by, among others, Shabnam Salahshoor, former Afghan football player and member of the Adidas Foundation Young Advisory Group; three-time Paralympic Champion Ludivine Munos; Dr Rachel Sandford of the UNESCO Chair “Sport, Physical Activity and Education for Development”; Joanna Maranhão of the Sport & Rights Alliance; Kristina Molloy of the International Paralympic Committee; Christo Velkov of Special Olympics; and Juan Pablo Salazar of CAF.

In his contribution on behalf of ACES, André de Jeu underlined the importance of design for equality: policies, programmes and investments should be designed from the outset with the people and groups they are intended to serve. Inclusion, equal access and participation should not be added afterwards, but built in from the start, measured and improved over time.

He also emphasized that ACES strongly embraces and promotes the use of data, monitoring and evidence-based interventions worldwide. For ACES, it is important that cities and regions do not only formulate ambitions, but also demonstrate what works, which groups are being reached and where adjustments are needed. By connecting international knowledge, local good practices and data, cities can invest more effectively in sport as a means for inclusion, health and social cohesion.

This approach is closely aligned with UNESCO’s Fit for Life programme. André de Jeu stressed that cities and regions play a key role, because equality becomes truly visible in people’s everyday environments: in schools, sport clubs, neighbourhoods, public spaces and local sport and physical activity programmes.

ACES represents a network of almost 6,000 cities and regions worldwide. Through this network, ACES aims to contribute to translating international standards, data-driven insights and evidence-based approaches into local practice. In this way, cooperation with UNESCO can help further strengthen inclusive cities through sport.

With its contribution to CIGEPS, ACES confirms its commitment to UNESCO’s Fit for Life agenda and to the shared ambition of using sport as a powerful instrument for equality, safety, health and connected communities.