Senior officials of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
emphasized the roles education and culture have played in the
Olympic Movement yesterday in Beijing at the opening ceremony of
the Fifth World Forum on Sport, Education and Culture.?
Entitled "Sport and a World of Harmony: the Role of Olympic
Education and Culture" this year's forum, which opened yesterday
and ends Tuesday, was organized by the IOC and the Beijing
Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) in
partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Over 650 experts, academics, government officials and those
involved in related activities from over 150 countries and regions
attended the forum. They met to exchange views and discuss the
development of world sports, education and culture in the new
century.
"As you all know education and culture are the roots of the
Olympic movement," said Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, at the
opening ceremony. "The Olympic Charter states clearly that the goal
of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and
better world by educating youth through sport practiced in
accordance with the Olympics and its values."
He also acknowledged the efforts of the IOC Commission for
Culture and Olympic Education which is under the direction of
Chinese IOC member He Zhenliang.
"I was particularly pleased to see that this effort is being
continued right now in China and millions of young Chinese, both
children and teenagers, are being introduced to the strength and
power of the Olympic values such as friendship, excellence and
respect," said Rogge.
"In conjunction with BOCOG, the IOC intends to make the Beijing
Olympics a celebration of harmony and peace, education and culture
and above all sporting perfection," added Rogge.
In the preparatory work for the 2008 Olympic Games the Beijing
organizers have attached great importance to spreading the spirit
of the movement to the youth of the world's most populous
country.
To date, China has named a total of 556 elementary and secondary
schools across the country as "Olympic Education Model Schools" to
promote Olympic education among its 400 million youngsters.
"Through the staging of the Olympic Games we're willing to
further reinforce the exchange with international friends and
accelerate the development of China and Beijing to leave a precious
legacy to China and world sports," said BOCOG President Liu Qi.
"The implementation of the three concepts of the Beijing Games
'Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics' is to
promote social and world harmony."
Following the forum, the seventh plenary session of the IOC
Coordination Commission will be held in Beijing from Tuesday to
Thursday. The commission will hear presentations from BOCOG
departments on the preparatory progress and discuss with them a
wide rage of subjects including media operations, the Olympic
village, the Paralympic Games and the competition schedule.
(China Daily October 23, 2006)