Hot on the heels of Valentin Vacherot’s stunning quarter-final run at the Shanghai Masters, a first in history for a Monegasque player, Monaco has brought its sporting momentum to the global stage in a different arena – diplomacy…
S.E. Mme Isabelle Picco, Monaco’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, represented the Principality at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs earlier this week for a panel titled “Sports Diplomacy and Women’s Empowerment.” Invited by the prestigious Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport, she championed the idea that sport is far more than competition, it is a powerful force for international cooperation, gender equality and social transformation.
She pointed to essential priorities such as access to physical education for young women, equal pay in sport, and stronger protections against online abuse targeting female athletes.
Mme Picco also highlighted Monaco’s leadership through the Group of Friends of Sport for Sustainable Development, which she co-chairs with Qatar — a platform that uses sport as a tool for peacebuilding and policy action.
She was joined by UN Women’s Jayathma Wickramanayake, Qatar’s Deputy Permanent Representative Mohammed Al Nasr, and acclaimed sports diplomacy academic Professor Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff.
From the tennis court to the UN floor, Monaco is proving that influence comes not from size; but from conviction.
