A Letter of Intent was signed today at the Palais des Nations in Geneva by the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace Mr. Wilfried Lemke, Mr. Kihan Kim of Seoul National University (SNU) and Mr. Kang Young Song of Korea Foundation for the Next Generation Sports Talent (NEST).

Run by the division of Global Sport Management Talent Development at Seoul National University since 2013 and funded by NEST, the Dream Together Master Programme aspires to contribute to global development through sport by educating a generation of sport administrators and connecting them into a strong international network. Its two-year curriculum is taught by renowned experts of sport industry. It also features an impressive list of invited speakers, including the Special Adviser who joined the programme as a special lecturer in 2014 and 2015.

Speaking about the newly signed agreement between the UNOSDP, SNU and NEST, Mr. Lemke said:

“We have seen with the example of the Youth Leadership Programme, how every investment made into youth and the development of their talent and skill pays off with tangible positive effects at the community level and beyond. Many of our alumni show great potential to one day become decision makers in the sport movement in their countries, and we are happy to offer them the necessary expertise and tools with the help of the Seoul National University and Korea Foundation for the Next Generation Sports Talent&”.

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The Dream Together Master Program aims to promote global sport development through training those who will lead sport in countries where sport is underdeveloped. The program also intends to consolidate international sport cooperation via global networking. The program provides world-class education for future leaders in the field of sport management to foster sport development both at the national and international level. Students participating in this program are all selected through a competitive selection process and financial aid is provided. The Dream Together Master Program is a global sport development initiative operated by the Global Sport Management Graduate Program at Seoul National University (SNU), funded by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism through the NEST using national sports promotional funds, in cooperation with the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC).

The NEST is a non-profit government funded body and specially designed human resource development institution which focuses on the next generation’s sport talents and leaders to bring about Korea’s sport development and its international sporting excellence.

As an indisputable leader of higher education in the Republic of Korea, SNU ranked 35th in the 2013 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. It is the only institution in the world’s top-50 universities that offers both Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Sport Management. Today, the university has sixteen colleges, ten graduate schools including professional graduate schools, 125 research institutes and other various affiliated institutions. As SNU is located in Seoul, the heart of Korea, it is able to offer its students with a wide range of outstanding cultural and recreational opportunities.