The OEA and ACES will hold a meeting in Washington on 26 April to define strategic lines of collaboration.

The Organization of American States (OEA) and ACES agreed, following the significant agreement signed on 6 March 2023, to work together in the cities and communities of the hemisphere to promote greater social cohesion through sport.

The Secretary General of the OEA, Luis Almagro, highlighted the work of ACES because “they start from a perspective that connects sport as an important complement to people's health and also with the promotion of access to rights”. “Sport has the potential to unite us, to sow brotherhood in an increasingly polarised world. When we put on the same shirt, we share a common nature that transcends borders, race, nationality and social status”, added Secretary General Almagro.

For his part, the Secretary General of ACES Europe, Hugo Alonso, stressed that the agreement with the OEA constitutes “a leap in quality with the American continent” after 25 years of experience with a network of 5,000 cities and with partners such as the European Commission and UNESCO. “Our work is based on promoting the good practice we generate in citizens through physical activity and the practice of sport. This agreement will allow us to partner with the OEA in various activities linked to sport”, added the representative of ACES Europe.

At the meeting on the 26th, the results of the American Week of Sport 2023 will be discussed and progress will be made on the AWoS 2024 project, whose institutional launch will take place in the city of Lima.

ACES, through its institutional director in the Americas, Adriana Sánchez Parés, will present the results of the American Week of Sport 2023, which was a success in its first edition, with 13 participating countries, 40 cities that staged 340 events with more than two million citizens getting active during the AWoS period.

Likewise, she will present the AWoS 2024 plan for the information of the members of the OEA.

Moreover, the result of the sport decalogue drawn up by both institutions will be analysed; it will be presented in various cities across the continent, starting with Santiago de Cali, in Colombia, during the American Meeting of Sport to be held on 2 August.

During the meeting, tribute will be paid to the city of León (MX), American Capital of Sport 2023, for the excellent work carried out and for its maximum involvement in the development of AWoS, with more than 200,000 residents of León getting active.

For ACES, as its general coordinator in the Americas, Gonzalo Cuesta Nieto, indicated, “the agreement with the OEA allows us to reinforce the importance of public policies in support of sport, considering it a state policy, providing it with the necessary resources to turn it into a lever for social transformation, highlighting the physical and mental benefits of its practice, the savings in healthcare and the key component it represents for achieving effective social integration and cohesion”.