Sport for dialogue and peace in Lausanne
Bern, 10.09.2026 — On 9 September 2026, Lausanne hosted a high-level meeting dedicated to the role of sport in diplomacy and peace. Representatives from politics, sports and science from the Sahel region and West Africa discussed how sport can build trust, maintain dialogue and create opportunities for engagement when political relations are strained. Following the round table, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis met with high-ranking representatives of the authorities of the Confederation of Sahel States and Senegal.
The round table on the theme “Sport in the service of diplomacy: a tool for dialogue, influence and change for the Sahel region and West Africa?” took place as part of the international conference ‘Diplomacies, Diplomats, and Sports, 19th–21st Century’ symposium at the University of Lausanne. It is built on an FDFA initiative launched in 2025 to develop sport diplomacy as a complement to the traditional instruments of Swiss foreign policy.
Sport makes it possible to maintain ties despite political tensions and to create spaces for dialogue between states, institutions and societies. The FDFA seeks to make greater use of this potential to promote trust, peace and Switzerland’s good offices. The mayor of Lausanne, Grégoire Junod, and the rector of the University of Lausanne, Christophe Champod, also took part in this high-level conference.
Lausanne, home to the International Olympic Committee and numerous international sports organisations, provides an ideal setting for this endeavour. The Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, to be held from 31 October to 13 November 2026, represent an important next step in this initiative.
Following the round table, Mr Cassis met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Niger, Bakary Yaou Sangaré, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Senegal, Cheikh Niang, as well as Nadine Traoré Bazié, adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabè Abroad, and Sékou known as Gaoussou Cisse, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mali to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva.
The discussions focused on ways to strengthen dialogue with the countries of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) and West Africa and to make better use of sport as a tool for building trust, diplomacy and peace.