The President of the World Olympians Association, Mr. Joël Bouzou, addressed the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) on Sunday 15 April to call for closer links between NOCs and National Olympians Associations.
The purpose of these partnerships is to make sport more than ever a tool at the service of society and the general interest, using Olympians to promote Olympic ideals and values to young people throughout the world.
Joël Bouzou reiterated his belief that the peak of an Olympian’s career is not the medals won in the stadium. It is the ability of these great athletes, true ambassadors for the Olympic movement, to be a positive driving force to improve the world we live in and inspire future generations.
"Being one of those lucky enough to call myself an Olympian, I know that these athletes want to give back to society," declared Mr. Bouzou in his speech. "Now is the right time to build a long term partnership between NOCs and National Olympians Associations! Thanks to our respective capacities for action around the world, thanks to the Olympians’ influence in nearly 140 countries around the world, thanks to the neutral status of sport, tomorrow we can be autonomous agents for change in society!"
With this belief in mind, the World Olympians Association’s motto is now: "Service to Society. Service to Olympians". Its priorities will change accordingly, in step with the International Olympic Committee.
Over the next few months, the WOA will particularly focus on increasing its efforts to serve the general interest by developing social welfare projects and programs involving Olympians, by creating materials to promote Olympism and the WOA, and by increasing cooperation with other institutions to promote Olympic values on all 5 continents.
The initial step will be to organize a large bi-annual Forum for Olympians, the first of which will be held soon after the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. This new event will enable an international communication platform to be set up, with the aim of identifying and sharing best practices involving Olympians serving society.
For more information, please contact info@olympian.org
Or visit www.woaolympians.com
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