Fencing, peace and the climate

So there I am, watching my oldest daughter take her exam in fencing. The room at Djurgårdens fäktförening is worn down but filled with patina and people who live to teach this old, beautiful way of dueling to the next generation.
I watch the walls. They are filled with fencing posters from competitions from the 50:ies up until today - from Mexico, Cuba, the Soviet Union, Sweden, France, the US and Hungary among others. The artwork is amazing. But it´s also amazing that all these competitions have taken place during the cold war, nuclear arms race and times of terror. If people can come together over sports, we should be able to come together to save the planet, I think, with the poor result of the climate summit in Copenhagen in mind.