October 11, 2009 – As Canada prepares to host the world’s best, Vancouver 2010 and The Globe and Mail are partnering on a unique project inviting the public to flex their intellect via podcasts by some of the country’s best minds on topics related to the 2010 Winter Games.

Starting today, the first podcast in the Intellectual Muscle: University Dialogues for Vancouver 2010 series will be available for download at www.vancouver2010.com/edu and www.globeandmail.com/intellectual muscle. The podcasts on a diverse range of topics – such as what the Games contribute to society, gender stereotypes in sport and how Canada defines itself through international events – will be specially produced in either French or English at 25 universities across Canada.

The English podcasts will live on The Globe and Mail website, while Vancouver 2010 will host the French podcasts. At least two new podcasts will be added online each week – on Tuesdays and Thursdays – up until the start of the Games in February 2010. The first French podcast will be posted on November 30.

“The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games are about celebrating the highest levels of achievement of the ‘body, mind and spirit,'” said Burke Taylor, vice president, culture, education and celebration programs with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). “We want to create a new forum for Canada’s best and brightest academics and public intellectuals to engage.”

“It’s a rare event to bring both French and English Canadian universities and a broad range of thinkers together around a single topic of national interest,” explained Don Black, education programs director with VANOC. “Our partnership with the University of British Columbia Continuing Studies, participating universities and The Globe and Mail is helping us achieve this and we hope it serves as a model for future collaborations.”

Jim Jennings, the Globe’s general manager and associate publisher British Columbia, added: “The Globe and Mail is pleased to provide an online platform for Canadians to engage in the national discussion on the Games. This is not only a first for Canada, the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, but also expands The Globe’s commitment to provide our readers in-depth coverage of the issues of the day on a variety of platforms.”

Starting today, listen to the University of Toronto’s Bruce Kidd talk about what the Games contribute to society. This outstanding Olympian and academic was Canada’s premier middle-distance runner in the early 1960s and is currently dean at the university’s faculty of physical education. On Saturday, October 10 Vera Pezer, chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan and a four-time Canadian curling champ, will speak on what inspires us about sport and whether there are better ways to discuss success.

Upcoming podcasts in the Intellectual Muscle series will be produced by educational institutions across Canada, including: Carleton University, Dalhousie University, McGill University, Memorial University, Queen’s University, Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, University of Guelph, University of Manitoba, Université de Montréal, University of New Brunswick, University of Northern British Columbia, University of Ottawa, University of Prince Edward Island, Université du Québec à Montréal, University of Waterloo, University of Western Ontario, University of Victoria, and Wilfrid Laurier University.

For more detailed information on upcoming podcasts, including professors, topics, and dates, visit www.vancouver2010.com/edu. As a legacy of the Games, many of the podcasts will continue to be used by participating universities, academics and students after 2010.

About /EDU
EDU is the Canadian online school portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. On the website, teachers can find resources related to school curricula across Canada, find ways to connect students to the 2010 Winter Games and share with the world innovative projects already happening in their schools. /EDU features five main themes: sport, culture, sustainability, the Olympic Movement and the Paralympic Movement, plus the overarching theme of global citizenship. Visit www.vancouver2010.com/edu.

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.