Dubai: Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee and Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, has welcomed the participants of the first International Sports Innovation Conference - to be held at Hilton Al Habtoor on Monday.

Organised by Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, which is a Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiative, the first International Sports Innovation Conference will be held on November 18 at the Hilton Al Habtoor under the theme “Tolerance and Peace in Sport”, and some of the world’s leading ambassadors of sports and tolerance will be sharing their experience at the conference.

Leading the list of speakers is Carl Lewis, one of the most celebrated athletes in Olympic history, and Kirsty Coventry, Africa’s most decorated Olympian and now Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, alongside Dr Sonia Ben Cheikh, Tunisia’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Daniela Bas, Director of the Division For Inclusive Social Development at the United Nation’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and former Egyptian judoka Mohamed Ali Rashwan, winner of a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games and the 1985 and 1987 World Judo Championships.

Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement: “Coinciding with the Year of Tolerance in the UAE and in sync with the objectives of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, we are pleased to work towards realising the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to empower communities and promote the noble values of cooperation, peace and tolerance through sport.

“We have launched a number of different initiatives to propagate these values, and the newest of them is this pioneering International Sports Innovation Conference, which has brought together sports legends who have left an indelible mark in the history of the Olympic Games and international sports, top government officials and promising young Arab sports heroes for a dialogue on ‘Tolerance and Peace in Sport’.

American track and field legend Carl Lewis, winner of nine Olympic gold medals and a silver in a storied track and field career, will be final speaker of the day, sharing his memories that include winning 10 World Championship medals as well and setting world records in the 100m, 4×100m, 4×200m relays and the indoor long jump, which has stood since 1984.