January 19, 2008 – Here is the latest Olympic news from the COC and IOC, including a call for International Olympic Academy participants, 2008 Academic Research Scholarships, the Virtual Olympic Congress launch and the fourth IOC World Conference on Women and Sport.

IOA International Session for Young Participants
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is now accepting applications for participants to attend the International Olympic Academy’s (IOA) 48th International Session for Young Participants (General Session) in Olympia, Greece. The session will take place from June 11 – June 25, 2008.

The aim of the IOA is to create an international cultural centre in Olympia, to preserve and spread the Olympic Spirit, and to study and implement the educational and social principles of Olympism.

The Session for Young Participants is open only to participants between the ages of 20 and 35 at the time of the Session (IOA policy). The main topic is ‘Olympism’ and the special topic is ‘Humanism and the Olympic Movement’. Candidates must have an understanding of Olympism and demonstrate their active involvement in the Olympic movement. General information on the IOA is available at www.ioa-sessions.org.

To learn more on how to apply, please find complete information regarding the application process here. Applications must be received at the COC Vancouver office by 5:00 p.m. PST, Friday, February 8, 2008. Selections will be made shortly thereafter and the successful candidate(s) will be notified the week of February 18, 2008.

All expenses will be paid during the course of the IOA, however delegates will be required to provide their own transportation to Toronto or Montreal (the Canadian departure points for Olympic Airways flights to Greece). Delegates will also be responsible for expenses incurred in Athens prior to the official start and after the official end of the Session.

The Canadian Olympic Committee is a national, private, not-for-profit organization committed to sport excellence. It is responsible for all aspects of Canada’s involvement in the Olympic movement, including Canada’s participation in the Olympic and Pan American Games and a wide variety of programs that promote the Olympic Movement in Canada through cultural and educational means. For more information, see the COC website: www.olympic.ca.

IOC NEWS

2008 Academic research scholarships
In the framework of its Postgraduate Researchers’ Scholarship Programme, the IOC Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) has chosen five research projects for their academic excellence and for their potential for developing the Olympic Movement.

The 2008 winners
The authors of these projects will benefit from a scholarship which will allow them to consult the OSC’s collections (unique collections of more than one million archived documents, publications, official reports, photos and films). The results of their research should be published at the end of the year. The five candidates selected and their chosen themes are:

– Dikaia Chatziefstathiou (University of Canterbury Christ Church, Great Britain/Greece): The Diffusion of Olympic Sport through Regional Games: A Comparison of Pre and Post Second War Contexts.
– Shirai Hiromasha (The London School of Economics, Great Britain/Japan): From Global Field to Local Neighbourhood, Sustainable Transformation of the Olympic Park for the City.
– Rebecca Leopkey (University of Ottawa, Canada): A stakeholder analysis on the management and governance of Olympic legacy.
– Qing Luo and five other researchers (collective candidature from the Communication University of China): Communication in the Olympics – Challenge and Opportunity for Beijing 2008 in Intercultural Exchange.
– Xinquan Yang (University of British Columbia, Canada/China): Investigate how corporate sponsorship can contribute to Olympic sustainability (i.e. economic, environmental and social responsibility).

Thirty-six files from 20 countries
The winners were selected by a committee comprising world-renowned experts for the quality of their research linked to Olympism and/or for their involvement in Olympic studies. This year, 36 candidature files (31 individuals and 5 collective) were submitted from 20 countries, addressing a variety of themes such as the Olympic values and multiculturalism, the different aspects of the Games’ legacy, young people and Olympism; regional games, athletes’ lives after their sporting career and international relations.

Who chooses?
The selection committee for the 2008 edition of the programme comprised the following members: Susan Brownell (University of Missouri, St Louis, USA), Lamartine DaCosta (University of Gama Filho, Brazil), Gudrun Doll-Tepper (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany), Jan Paterson (British Olympic Foundation, Great Britain), Thierry Terret (Claude Bernard University – Lyon 1, France), Stephan Wassong (Liverpool Hope University, Great Britain), Hai Ren (Beijing Sports University, China).

Virtual Olympic Congress: Launch of public consultations
The public consultation process of the virtual Olympic Congress was officially launched today. These consultations mark the beginning of a new phase of the virtual Congress, which began in October 2007.

“This is an exciting time for the Olympic Movement,” declared IOC President Jacques Rogge. “Modern communication methods have made it possible for us to tap into the views and opinions of those outside the immediate Olympic family. We feel it is critical to take on board the views of the public when considering the future path of the Olympic Movement. I hope that the public consultation process will encourage people to be forthcoming with their insights and ideas”.

The information gathered through the virtual Congress will form the basis of discussions at the 13th Olympic Congress held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2009.

Until now, the virtual Congress was open only to members of the Olympic family. The public consultations are a parallel process designed to “take the pulse” of the general public. The themes for consideration by the Olympic family and the general public are as follows:

Theme 1: The Athletes
– Relationship between the athletes, the clubs, federations and the NOCs
– Health protection in training and competition
– The social and professional life of athletes during and after elite competition

Theme 2: The Olympic Games
– How to keep the Games as a premier event
– The Olympic values
– Universality and developing countries

Theme 3: The Structure of the Olympic Movement
– The autonomy of the Olympic Movement
– Good governance and ethics
– The relationships between the Olympic Movement and its stakeholders

Theme 4: Olympism and Youth
– Moving towards an active society
– Is competitive sport still appealing?
– Youth sports events

Theme 5: The Digital Revolution
– A new management of sports rights
– How to increase the size of the sports audience
– Communication with stakeholders in the digital age

This is the first time in the history of Olympic Congresses that the general public can submit their views on the topics under consideration. An analysis of these contributions will be conducted and the results published by the IOC in 2009.

Members of the public can submit their contributions via the following link: www.2009congress.olympic.org. More information on the submission guidelines can also be found at this address. The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2008.

4th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport: last call for registration
Register now for the 4th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, which will take place from 8-10 March 2008 in Jordan. How to best use “Sport as a vehicle for social change” will be discussed by the hundreds of expected participants from the Olympic Movement, universities, industry, governments, NGOs and other expert institutions.

In plenary, parallel and cultural activities
How can female athletes serve as role models for young girls? How to get more women into coaching and officiating. How to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic through sport. And how does culture determine women’s access to sport? These are only some of the topics which will be elaborated on in plenary and parallel sessions. Outside the conference rooms, the participants will have the opportunity to join in exhibitions and cultural activities.

Joint efforts to increase the participation of women in sport The conference serves to analyse the progress made in this field within the Olympic Movement and to discuss new opportunities to increase the participation of women in sport. Under the patronage of Their Majesties, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and jointly organised by the IOC and the NOC of Jordan, the Conference will be an excellent platform to exchange expertise and best practice as well as collaborate for future action around the 2008 motto. The deadline to register for this event, which takes place every four years and will be held for the first time in the Middle East, is 31 January 2008.

Learn more about the programme here (PDF doc)
Useful Information here(PDF doc)

How to participate in the 4th IOC Women and Sport Conference:
Please register here with the Accommodation and Accreditation Form