Colombia has experienced the boiling moments of a transformation in these years, the historical symptoms of the emergence of a new society that will hopefully be much more just than the current one and peaceful, said Petro.
“And sport has a lot to say here, both in terms of justice and peace,” the head of state emphasized to the athletes.
He assured that his government wanted to implement a reorganization of sport in Colombia that has reached the present day in all its glory, but said there was an urgency to jump even further and that it meant a merging of school and sport .
He recalled that a long time ago someone made the decision to separate physical education from school and stop hiring physical education teachers, and children stopped participating in this subject.
“You are exceptional in a way because amidst the difficulties that come with the lack of government and a culture that doesn’t allow physical activity to be practiced, you stand out, you are a leader,” Petro said.
He warned that physical activity “is a right of the general public because it is essential and a vital determinant of health.”
He commissioned the Minister of Sport, Astrid Bibiana Rodríguez, to advance these projects that are transforming Colombian society.
“The change that needs to be made, Minister, is precisely that we can combine school and sport, that the academic activity of every boy or girl, later still young, be perfectly articulated in their hours of study, in their own physical space can.” while the books are being opened, while the formulas of math are being studied with physical activity,” he said.
Petro wished the athletes success and better results than the last edition of these games in the Colombian city of Barranquilla.
“Hopefully the liberated youth that we want in Colombia, because as the years pass they pull us, even those of us who are no longer young, towards a better life, towards a better future, towards a better Colombia “May Colombia be a world power of life and peace,” he said.
Weightlifter Yenny Álvarez and gymnast Andrés Felipe Martínez, selected for their outstanding performances during the post-Paris 2024 Olympic cycle, will carry the coffee representation flag.
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