KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.

IOC meets Gambia National Olympic Committee and Gambian government representatives

26/09/2014

The IOC held a meeting with the Gambian National Olympic Committee (GNOC) and the Gambian government on 24 September in Lausanne, which was chaired by IOC Delegate Member for Autonomy Patrick Hickey, to address the regrettable situation faced by the GNOC since April 2014, when the GNOC office was closed by government decision. Despite numerous requests from the IOC to the highest authorities of the country, the GNOC office has not yet re-opened, and the GNOC is unable to operate normally.

During the meeting, the government delegation and the GNOC were given the opportunity to express their views and the IOC to answer and clarify any questions raised. In particular, the IOC confirmed, once again, that the GNOC election process which took place more than a year ago had been held in accordance with the Olympic Charter, the GNOC Constitution and all IOC directives and that, as a result, there was no reason to question it. The same goes for the people who were elected at that Elective General Assembly on 3 August 2013, who have been recognised by the IOC as the legitimate GNOC representatives.

The IOC, the GNOC and the government delegation came to the conclusion that this situation, which has been affecting Gambian athletes and the Olympic and sports movement in the country for too long, must now be resolved.

As a consequence, a number of actions have been requested by the IOC as follows:

1. The GNOC office and properties must be returned to the GNOC without any limitation or condition.

2. Any “travel ban” issued against the GNOC officers must be lifted and cancelled.

3. As part of the consultative process which should take place between the government, the GNOC and the National Federations to revise the sports legislation in the country, the IOC has offered its assistance, to help the government and the responsible entities to ensure that the new Sports Bill, which is currently being drafted, is fully compatible with the basic principles which govern the Olympic Movement.

4. Commitment to build harmonious relations and fruitful cooperation between the government and the Olympic Movement in The Gambia, which should work as partners, in the framework of their respective responsibilities, to develop sport and the athletes in the country as a common objective.

The case is expected to be reviewed at the next IOC Executive Board meeting in October, and appropriate decisions will be taken depending on the progress made.

Share

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.

Olympic Movement supports International Day of Peace

21/09/2014

Today is the International Day of Peace. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has established a strong partnership with the United Nations (UN) and its various agencies, is committed to promoting peace through sport and the Olympic ideals, at the Olympic Games and beyond.

This year’s International Day of Peace celebrates the Right of Peoples to Peace, and marks the 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace, which recognises that the promotion of peace is crucial for the full enjoyment of all human rights.
Sport cannot impose or maintain peace, but it can inspire it. Sport certainly has a vital role to play as it continues to demonstrate that it can facilitate dialogue between different communities and be a catalyst for mutual understanding in our society. The UN has long recognised the value of sport, and as such the IOC has cultivated a strong relationship with this organisation and its partner agencies, which most recently resulted in the signing of a historical agreement aimed at strengthening collaboration between the two bodies at the highest level.
Using sport to encourage development and peace has been at the core of the IOC’s mission since its creation in 1894. Pierre de Coubertin, the IOC’s founder, was explicit in his desire to use the Olympic Games as a forum to promote harmony among individuals and nations. His vision has become a reality. During the Olympic Games, nations from across the world unite on and off the field of play, as the athletes, regardless of their backgrounds, peacefully coexist in the Olympic Village, bringing the Olympic values to life.
An Olympic truce for peace
Taking into account the global context in which sport and the Olympic Games exist, the IOC decided to revive the concept of the Olympic Truce on the occasion of the Olympic Games, with a view to protecting, as far as possible, the interests of athletes and sport, as well as creating a valuable window of opportunity for the peaceful resolution of conflict.
Since 1993, the UN has endorsed this initiative, and one year before each edition of the Olympic Games, the UN urges its Member States to observe the Olympic Truce and to seek, in conformity with the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter, the settling of all international conflicts through peaceful and diplomatic means. This endorsement also recognises the importance of the IOC initiatives for human well-being and international understanding.
Organising Committees of the Olympic Games have also gradually integrated the Olympic Truce into their educational activities leading up to the event, introducing Olympic Truce walls for both athletes and officials to sign in support of peace.
For more information, read the Olympic Truce factsheet.
Building a better world through sport
The IOC undertakings in favour of peace-building extend beyond the period of the Olympic Games, and have led to the implementation of a number of “sport for peace” initiatives and activities in cooperation with UN programmes, NGOs and National Olympic Committees.
To mention but one example, in El Salvador, the IOC teamed up with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Public Security and Justice to implement the “Sport for Peace and Development” project, which integrates sport into a national programme against poverty and violence. The project is conducted in some of the most violent municipalities in the country, and includes the rehabilitation or construction of playgrounds as well as the organisation of special sports activities.
For further examples of projects and actions on the ground, click here.
Learn more about Peace through Sport.

Share

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.

Death of Alpha Ibrahim Diallo, IOC Honorary Member in Guinea

15/09/2014

It is with great sadness that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has learned of the death of Alpha Ibrahim Diallo at the age of 82.

A graduate in journalism and civil administration, Mr Diallo joined the IOC in 1994. He was a member of the Executive Board from 2003 to 2006 and also served on the following commissions: Sport for All (1995), Radio and Television since 1996, IOC 2000 (1999), Olympic Solidarity (2002-2006) and International Relations since 2002. He became an Honorary Member in 2013.
Mr Diallo enjoyed playing football and basketball, and it was his passion for sport that led to his long career serving the Olympic Movement at home and abroad. During his 15 years at the head of the NOC of Guinea, he played a key role in supporting athletes and in promoting the values of physical activity in his country. On a continental level, Diallo was a Member of the ANOCA Executive Committee from 1986 to 1990, before becoming President from 2001 to 2005. He also served as a member of the ANOC Executive Committee before becoming its Vice-President in 2001.
Mr Diallo led a busy diplomatic career as an ambassador, a role that saw him posted in Algiers, Rabat and Tunis, Cairo and the Middle East. He then held a number of positions within the Guinean Government as Directeur de Cabinet to the Prime Minister (1975-1982), Secretary General of the Communications Ministry (1992-1994) and Minister of Communications and Culture since 1997. He was also an Ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations in New York from 1983 to 1985.
A man of culture, Diallo was the founding President of the African National Broadcasting and Television Union (URTNA) and Chairman of the first Pan-African Cultural Festival held in Algiers in 1969.
The IOC expresses its deepest sympathies to Mr Diallo’s family.

###

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

###

For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.
VideosYouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia
PhotosFor an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.
To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.
Social mediaFor up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Share

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.

IOC President Thomas Bach marks successful first year in office

© IOC/Jason Evans, Jason XI, Ian Jones

10/09/2014

On this day one year ago, Thomas Bach was elected as the ninth President of the International Olympic Committee, at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires.

 
Since then, we have had successful Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.  The President has fostered closer links with the United Nations and met more than 80 Heads of State and Government in that time. He is leading the Olympic Agenda 2020 reform process to develop a roadmap for the future of the entire Olympic Movement.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.

IOC President meets with INTERPOL Secretary General to discuss joint action plan to protect clean athletes

09/09/2014

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble met today at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne to advance collaboration on the protection of sport from corruption, particularly the manipulation of competition through betting.

Today’s discussion focused on the parameters of collaboration to be implemented in the coming years. The main areas of focus are awareness-raising among members of the Olympic Movement of the risks related to the manipulation of competitions, intelligence gathering, the conducting of investigations and prosecution procedures. Law enforcement authorities will be trained in parallel with the sports movement as the manipulation of sports competitions is often linked to criminal activities. INTERPOL’s expertise in overseeing and conducting investigations and in the exchange of intelligence is therefore critical.
The approach is based on the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding the IOC and INTERPOL signed in January. The MOU widened the scope of previous activities between the two organisations and paves the way for future collaboration on the security and protection of the integrity of competitions at the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games. It includes measures to improve governance through sport regulations and state legislation; ensuring regulatory enforcement through intelligence and investigations; and enhancing awareness among, and providing training to, Olympic Movement stakeholders and law enforcement agencies.
“Protecting the clean athletes from all forms of corruption and manipulation is our top priority,” said President Bach. “Our increased collaboration with INTERPOL serves to safeguard the integrity of sport. We are very satisfied with the determination being demonstrated by INTERPOL to team up with the IOC in this fight for the clean athletes. Together we continue to call on all governments, police authorities and betting regulators to join us.”
“Building on the close collaboration between INTERPOL and the International Olympic Committee is crucial to turning back crime threatening the integrity of sport,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Noble. “Wider global law enforcement support will also help ensure that fans, competitors and officials can safely enjoy international sports events.”
“Our joint action against threats such as illegal and irregular betting will help underpin confidence in fair play by the public and all those who have a stake in keeping sports clean and safe,” the Secretary General added. “The role of INTERPOL is to ensure that the rule of law is respected; the role of the IOC is to ensure that the rule of sport is respected. So it is a perfect marriage.”
As the world’s largest international police organization that works to connect police for a safer world, INTERPOL has worked closely with the IOC in the past to protect Olympic competitions from manipulation.
One of the IOC’s latest efforts to protect clean athletes was the establishment of the “Integrity Betting Intelligence System” (IBIS), which has been fully operational since the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Designed to become the primary source of betting information for the Olympic Movement, IBIS collates alerts and information on manipulation through betting on sport. Betting operators and regulators that have signed MoUs with the IOC are responsible for monitoring betting activity on all major international sports events and alerting IBIS directly when suspicious activity is detected. IBIS is a permanent mechanism that is available to all International Federations (IFs). The goal is to have all Summer and Winter IFs join the system by the end of 2015. The collaboration with INTERPOL will strengthen the efficiency of IBIS through the training and support of IFs, national sports organisations and law enforcement agencies.
Looking ahead, the IOC fully supports the signing of the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions by all states represented at the 13th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport in Macolin/Magglingen, Switzerland on 18 September 2014. The convention will mark a key milestone in the cooperation between governments and sport in the joint fight against manipulation in sport.
For background information:On the fight against irregular and illegal betting,click here.
On the IOC’s “Integrity Betting Intelligence System” (IBIS), click here

###

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

###

For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.VideosYouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia

PhotosFor an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.
To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.Social mediaFor up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.

Young Ambassador talks sport at UNESCO World Youth Forum in Nanjing

29/08/2014

IOC Young Ambassador Stephanie Au (HKG) joined a panel of experts at a special UNESCO event held in Nanjing, China, to discuss how today’s youth can use sport to make a difference and shape their futures.

The World Youth Forum on Sport, Culture and Peace, jointly hosted with the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (NYOGOC), was held during the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG); a unique platform for 3,800 athletes and other participants from across the world to gather together, compete against one another, share their experiences and learn from each other.

As one of 104 Young Ambassadors for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games selected by their National Olympic Committees, Stephanie was tasked with ensuring her athletes got the most out of their YOG experience by taking part in the culture and education activities on themes such as healthy cooking, anti-doping, time management and media training.

Paying tribute to the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games and addressing the value of sport in inspiring and empowering young people as well as uniting them through shared values, UNESCO invited the IOC Young Ambassador to speak of sport as a tool for development, peace and social inclusion. As an Olympian, a student and a young citizen actively engaged in spreading the Olympic spirit, Stephanie shared her experience and views on the positive role sport and athletes can play in society.

“As a Young Ambassador at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, I have had the opportunity to meet inspiring young people from five continents and to build friendships”, stated the 22-year-old. “I have experienced first-hand the power of sport in bridging divides, in bringing people together and in instilling values such as fair play, respect and friendship.”

In a release published on the occasion of the World Youth Forum, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova echoed sport’s and culture’s capacity to empower, unite and drive social change: “We must craft new ways to support youth by leveraging the transformative power of culture and sport. These fundamental forms of human expression reflect values at the core of the Olympic Movement, which are essential for tolerance and solidarity.”

Other International Organisations, such as UNAIDS, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Federation, the International Fair-Play Committee, the International Olympic Academy and the International Olympic Truce Center, have also been able to introduce young athletes and local young people to the benefits and positive values of sport as well as foster their interest and understanding of global issues, through their activities in the framework of the  YOG Culture and Education Programme.

Last week, fellow IOC Young Ambassador Hamza Chraibi was also invited to join a UNAIDS panel on Inclusive Partnerships for Health, Sports and Development through South-South and Triangular Cooperation alongside IOC International Cooperation and Development Director Lindsay Glassco, to highlight the importance of the engagement of young people and the sports community in the fight against HIV/AIDS

Sport: a tool for positive change and social inclusion

As stated in the Olympic Charter and as demonstrated across a wide variety of projects and programmes coordinated or supported by the IOC around the world, sport is and can be an effective tool to promote and further social and individual change. It is an integrative force that facilitates dialogue within and between communities, and breaks down barriers.

Making sport a reality for social inclusion requires expert partners who deal with social issues on a daily basis. The IOC has been able to count on many partners over the years, in particular, the United Nations and its various agencies and programmes, with which it has long-standing cooperation.UNESCO is one such agency which has often joined forces with the IOC in the areas of culture, promotion of physical education and sport for development. Although the UN and the IOC have very different roles in society, they share many core values and work together to put sport and physical activity at the service of human development.

Learn more about IOC initiatives to build a better world through sport