On 6 August 2025, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Hiroshima Dragonflies Corporation, a professional basketball team in Japan, signed a renewed memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen their collaboration. The agreement, signed by Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNITAR, and Nobuyoshi Ura, President of Hiroshima Dragonflies, focuses on advancing sustainable development and peace through sports. The renewed partnership emphasizes four key thematic areas: sustainable development, peacebuilding through sports, reducing inequalities, and empowering vulnerable groups including women and youth.
Michelle Gyles-McDonnough highlighted the unique role sports play in uniting people, fostering empathy, and promoting solidarity towards peace and sustainability. She described Hiroshima, known globally as a symbol of resilience and hope, as an ideal base for this partnership to help create a more inclusive and sustainable society. The President of Hiroshima Dragonflies expressed pride in renewing the MoU under the philosophy of “HIROSHIMA PRIDE,” emphasizing the importance of using sport to promote peace, diversity, and mutual understanding both locally and globally. The team’s community initiatives, such as the “Landscape Connected by Basketball Project,” demonstrate their ongoing commitment to youth development and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNITAR, as the UN agency focused on training and capacity building, develops programs aimed at creating inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous societies worldwide. By combining the strengths of both organizations, UNITAR and Hiroshima Dragonflies seek to expand community-based initiatives with a global perspective, accelerating progress toward sustainability and peace. Their partnership, which began in 2022 with the UNITAR Hiroshima Youth Ambassador Training Programme, has since grown to include multiple joint efforts to promote peace through sport.
In April 2024 and 2025, UNITAR’s peacebuilding work was featured during Hiroshima Dragonflies’ home games through a video presentation, raising awareness in the local community. Following the MoU renewal, UNITAR is also participating in the Hiroshima Dragonflies’ 2025 peace campaign, “Connecting Wishes for Peace – #OrizuruRelay.” This social media relay campaign gathers video messages from partners and supporters to amplify hopes for peace, strengthening the shared commitment to peace and sustainable development through sport.
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