While the eyes of the world will be transfixed on the most famous 16-day summer sports gala in the universe starting from the grand opening ceremony on August 8, a side event of the Olympic Games scheduled for August 10 also deserves attention.

The Truce Foundation of the USA (TFUSA) is working together with the U.S. Olympic Committee on a ceremony to honor and award some of those who have contributed to the promotion of peace, friendship and cultural communications.

"Our keen interest is to make sure that [the Olympic Games] are more than a commercial event and that people pay attention to more than just the medals," said Hugh T. Dugan, founder of TFUSA, during an interview with Beijing Review, adding the group hopes watchers "understand that it's a movement, maybe the largest single movement in the world, that demands a harmonious mankind."

According to Dugan, the ceremony hosted on the third day following the opening of the Olympics will have around 125 participants, including senior leadership of the International Olympic Committee. It will award Juan Antonio Samaranch, Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), for his central role in reviving the Olympic Truce for the modern era and Mr. Irwin Belk, American sports philanthropist and humanitarian, for his generosity to the Olympic movement.

The foundation will also honor The Culture and Civilization of China publication project, a cooperative program between China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and the Yale University Press initiated in 1990 which will result in 75 volumes on the cultural riches of Chinese civilization. This seemingly odd choice for a peace-through-sports award was picked for the natural link between the ideals of the Olympic Truce and the promotion of international understanding through the publication project, said Huang Youyi, Vice President of CIPG.

By awarding this project, "we want to promote the scholarship and cultural side of the Olympic Games which sometimes is overlooked, but actually very important, said Dugan.

The Olympic Truce dates back to the eighth century B.C. and served as the cornerstone of the ancient games for more than 1,200 years. Throughout the duration of the peace accord, from the seventh day prior to the opening of the Olympic Games to the seventh day following the closing, all conflicts should cease according to the truce. The IOC renewed the Olympic Truce in 1992 by calling all nations to observe the agreement and it established the International Olympic Truce Foundation (IOTF) in 2000.

Inspired by the Truce, Dugan established TFUSA in 2001. It is the only national initiative of its kind in the world to date.

"At the international level, the IOTF seeks to promulgate the Olympic Truce between countries. In turn, the TFUSA seeks to recognize and support efforts not only between countries but within countries, communities and households meant to overcome constraints on realizing goals and ideals in the spirit of Olympism," said Dugan.

Dugan told Beijing Review that TFUSA is an independent homegrown and friendship-based organization that relies on "volunteer efforts to generate enthusiasm for the Olympic Truce and to promote the Olympic Truce in our lives, not just during the Games."

Dugan himself is a volunteer. He currently works full-time as a senior officer of the U.S. Mission to the UN, but he has been actively involved for years in promoting the values of the Olympic Games, which he said "provide an opportunity for people to meet and to enable dialogue and friendship."

While there are benefactors and donors who help pay for the events that TFUSA hold, Dugan said he doesn't want the foundation to be commercialized or dependent to any government department.

Dugan said he is glad to see "a great deal of enthusiasm" for the efforts he and his team members have made.

One friend of the program, world marathon champion Tegla Loroupe from Kenya, interpreted the spirit of the Olympic Truce by organizing a series of peace runs in her country and neighboring countries that brought together communities and people stricken by recent conflict to improve their relations. Even if the peace between communities doesn't last, for the time during the activities "a form of Olympic Truce takes effect," said Dugan.

"We are hoping people that are inspired by the Olympics decide to apply some of the principles of the Olympic Truce closer to home, in their nations and communities around the world," he added.

(Reporting from New York)