Prince Albert II has led the launch of the #WhiteCard 2025 campaign in Monaco, reinforcing the Principality’s strong commitment to using sport as a tool for peace, as well as his own personal dedication to the cause.
From Prince Albert and local government officials, including Acting Minister of State Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, to personalities from the world of sport, such as AS Monaco Basketball’s hotshot Mike James, the official launch of Peace and Sport’s #WhiteCard campaign for 2025 has enjoyed an outpouring of support from all corners of the Principality.
The #WhiteCard campaign was first launched by the Monaco-based charity Peace and Sport in 2015. Over the years, it has become a worldwide movement supported by athletes, advocates, world leaders and decision-makers.
The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the plight of children in conflict zones, with supporters encouraged to raise a white card in a gesture of promoting peace and then share their image online. The campaign is driven by the hard facts that 460 million children currently live in war and conflict zones, with their education, safety and opportunities threatened on a daily basis. Peace and Sport is dedicated to promoting sport as an important vehicle for building skills such as respect and teamwork, and the #WhiteCard initiative seeks to make these voices heard and draw global attention to the needs of disadvantaged youth.
On 26th March, Prince Albert was pictured with a white card alongside Joël Bouzou, Peace and Sport’s founding chairman, and two celebrated taekwondo practitioners: Zakia Khudadadi, who represented Afghanistan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics before joining the Refugee Team at the 2024 Games in Paris and winning bronze, and Marlène Nidecker, a French Olympic medallist.
Khudadadi was recently named a Champion for Peace by Peace and Sport. She joins a prestigious group of international athletes such as Didier Drogba, who is the Vice President of Peace and Sport, Grace Geyoro, Cheick Cissé, Siya Kolisi, Clarisse Agbegnenou and Egan Bernal. All have become advocates for the charity organisation and its objectives of promoting the role of sport in driving positive societal change.
Speaking to the local press at the launch of #WhiteCard 2025, Prince Albert said, “It’s a campaign that has been running for 10 years now and has made a big impact around the world. We saw this with the number of participants last year, and we hope it will be the case again this year. Almost 500 million children are affected by conflict zones [and] sport can help create spaces of well-being for these children, spaces where they can come together. It is an extremely strong, extremely powerful vehicle for peace, so that all these young people can aspire to a better world. I’m extremely happy and proud to be taking part in this event.”
For more information on Peace and Sport as well as #WhiteCard, click here.
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Championing change: Prince Albert II salutes sporting heroes at 2024 Peace and Sport Awards
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Pictured left to right: Joël Bouzou, Peace and Sport’s founding chairman; Zakia Khudadadi; Prince Albert II of Monaco; and Marlène Nidecker. Photo credit: Stéphane Danna / Monaco Communications Department