The 3rd International Forum on Sport for Peace and Development opened today in New York with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) honouring United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the Olympic Order. The award was in recognition of the UN Secretary-General’s strong personal commitment to use sport as a tool for social change, a concept brought to life through various joint IOC-UN projects at community level. It was also under Mr Ban that the IOC received UN observer status in 2009.