Southern African Development Community FURTHER GUIDED by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Cultural Charter for Africa; the Cultural Manifesto of Algiers (1969); the OAU Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa and the Final Act of Lagos (1980); Our Creative Diversity (1997); the UNESCO Stockholm Action Plan on Cultural Policies for Development and the OAU Dakar Plan of Action on Cultural Industries; MINDFUL of the objective to strengthen and consolidate the historical, social and cultural affinities and links among the peoples of the Region as stipulated in Article 5 of the Treaty; AWARE of the Windhoek Declaration on the State of the Media in Southern Africa and the Declaration on the Role of Information and Communication in the Building of SADC; RECALLING that information is a prerequisite for political, economic, social and cultural development and, therefore, the need to co-operate in removing barriers for its dissemination; DESIROUS of improving the availability of information to the peoples ofthe Region; GUIDED by the Olympic Charter, the OAU and the Supreme Council of Sport in Africa General Assembly Declaration on Sport; AWARE that sport plays an important role in addressing social, economic and political problems and promotes a sense of pride and community integration; FURTHER AWARE of the proven potential of the Region in sport and that human-centred development brought about by participation in sport and recreation is one of the most essential means of achieving the objectives of the Treaty; CONVINCED of the need to entrench sport in the regional integration agenda; AWARE that SADC recognises the presence and role of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa Zone VI (SCSA Zone VI) and that SADC has made the SCSA Zone VI the implementing arm of all SADC sports programmes; CONVINCED FURTHER that the community building efforts being undertaken by the Region can be better achieved through well co-ordinated and harmonised approaches to sports development, participation and tournament programmes. TAKING full cognisance of the imperative need to translate sectoral policies, priorities and strategies into practical effect; Protocol on Culture,Information and Sport 2