The TOC's Sports Culture and Olympic Education Programme kick-starts 2017-18 activities with visit to Izmir

The Turkish Olympic Committee’s (TOC) Sports Culture and Olympic Education Programme (OLI) kicked off its 2017-18 activities this week by presenting to approximately 5000 school children in the Turkish city of İzmir.

The multi-activity programme reached six schools in İzmir from 9-12 October, with children taking part in a series of interactive audio-visual presentations, prepared with the help of experts. Presentation topics included areas such as Olympic sports, Olympic values, the benefits of sport, the importance of nutrition, fair play and the environment. The schools visited this week were: Bornova Doğa College, Mavişehir Doğa College, Tevfik Fikret Schools, TAKEV Schools, İzmir Turkish College and Evin Leblebicioğlu Secondary School.

Children attending the İzmir presentations were also treated to a surprise visit by Karşıkaya Sports Club volleyball player Ayşe Girgin, who encouraged children to take up sport by sharing her story about how she became a professional athlete.

TOC Board Member and President of the Sports Culture and Olympic Training Commission, Seyit Bilal Porsun, said:

"We are delighted with the successful launch of this year’s OLI presentations. Children in İzmir showed a lot of enthusiasm this week as we taught them about a variety of Olympic sports, which have thousands of years of history but fall outside the traditional and popular disciplines followed by the majority of people in Turkey.

"Through the Sports Culture and Olympic Education Programme, we are contributing to the development of children in Turkey by educating them on the importance of physical activity and healthy nutrition. With our mascot Oli, we have found the winning formula for keeping children engaged whilst teaching them to be responsible citizens who are sensitive to the environment around them."

Sibel Tel, who is the presenter of the programme, said:

"It is an honour to be back here presenting to children for an 11th consecutive year. To date we have reached approximately 1.85 million children in Turkey and are hoping to break the two million mark this academic year. Sport plays a crucial role in our societies’ wellbeing and our mission is to ensure this message reaches as many children across Turkey as possible."

First launched in 2006, OLI is designed to spread the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect and the importance of sports culture among children, their teachers and their families. The TOC has also specifically created its OLI mascot for this programme. OLI interacts with children during the presentations. Children are asked a variety of Olympic and sport-related questions by OLI and are rewarded with small gifts for correct answers.

The Sports Culture and Olympic Education Programme will now head to Antalya, where it will present to local children from 17-19 October.

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