13 Year-Old Brazilian School Girl Takes Olympic Light To UN

A 13 year old Brazilian school girl by name Bruna Gabrielle Pitta, who has lived in Geneva for 11 years, was chosen and mandated to carry the Olympic flame into the UN building. The flame represented a symbol of peace for thousands of years, and it visited the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday April 29 in the hands of Bruna Gabrielle. Afterwards it went on display at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, where it will stay until next week, when the torch will journey to Brazil, host nation of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The leaders of the UN, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Rio 2016 all spoke of the role of the Olympic Games in fostering inclusion, dialogue and peace. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the Olympic movement was an important partner of the UN. "Sports give children the basic human right of being children who can, at least for a few moments, laugh and play," he said. "The world is looking forward to the Rio Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, which also embody the values of the United Nations."