iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.

Inauguration of the XIII Olympic Congress in Copenhagen 2009 - Ban Ki-moon

IOC

The XIII Olympic Congress, entitled “The Olympic Movement in society”, was held from 3 to 5 October 2009 in Copenhagen (Denmark) and brought together more than one thousand participants.

The Congress provided a rare opportunity for the entire Olympic Family (i.e. IOC members, representatives of National Olympic Committee (NOCs), International Federations (IFs), the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGS), athletes, coaches, media, sponsors and other stakeholders) to meet and discuss issues of importance to the entire Movement.

In his keynote speech to the Congress, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to the excellent collaboration between the United Nations (UN) and the IOC. (The IOC was granted UN observer status at the end of 2009).

In his concluding remarks, he declared: “If you asked me to jog around this conference room, I would probably run out of breath. But when it comes to fighting for our shared global goals – for a world that is cleaner, healthier, more peaceful and more prosperous – I will sprint like an Olympian. I will ski the steepest trail. I will run and run and never stop until we reach the first line. I am counting on all of you to join me. We must go for the gold.”

Over the course of the three day Congress, participants heard from many respected speakers and had interesting discussions on the following themes:

the Athletes
the Olympic Games
the Structure of the Olympic Movement
Olympism and Youth and
the Digital Revolution.

Each of these themes was further subdivided into three subthemes.

A half day was devoted to the discussions of each of the five themes at the Congress. The plenary sessions were followed by three simultaneous breakout sessions on the respective subthemes. (The texts of the speeches can be found under the relevant themes).

All the sessions were livecast over the internet to allow the general public to hear the discussions as they happened. (The videos of the plenary and discussion sessions of each theme can be found under the related tabs).

The breakout session on each of the subthemes began with presentations from a panel of speakers. The moderators of each panel were then responsible for the ensuing discussion period, which gave participants the opportunity to voice their opinions on the issues. The main points from each breakout session were carefully recorded by rapporteurs who informed the Editorial Committee of the discussions at the end of each day. The final document reflects the main ideas to come out of the proceedings in Copenhagen as well as information collected through the Virtual Olympic Congress. The Virtual Olympic Congress allowed the Olympic Family and the public to submit written contributions on the five themes during the preparatory phase.

The XIII Olympic Congress was a great success and has left the Olympic Movement with a blue print for the future. It is now time to translate words into action and implement the 66 recommendations. (See below for a PDF version of the recommendations)

Jacques Rogge

IOC President

View the text of Jacques Rogge’s speech at the Opening Ceremony
View the text of Jacques Rogge’s speech at the Closing Ceremony
View the video of Jacques Rogge’s speech at the Opening Ceremony

Ban Ki-moon

UN Secretary General

View the text of Ban Ki-moon’s speech at the Opening Ceremony
View the video of Ban Ki-moon’s speech at the Opening Ceremony

IOC

Olympic medallist and IOC member Frank Fredericks set the tone for the first theme, “The Athletes”, by illustrating the power of sport with a personal example. “Sport changed my life. What I am today is because of what sport has given me. What I have built, what I have discovered, what I have achieved is thanks to sport” he said. “We have a responsibility to the younger generation to let them know that taking part in sport is a wonderful life experience”, he continued.

As IOC President Jacques Rogge declared, “this Olympic Congress will go down in history as that of young people and the athletes!” In his view, the number one priority for the whole Olympic Movement should be to defend the interests of young people and athletes.

The 66 recommendations from the Olympic Congress include proposals to better protect the physical and mental health of the athletes, to ensure their safety and to help them prepare for their career transition. The delegates also called for the creation of a commission to address issues pertaining to coaches, trainers and members of the athletes’ entourage.

You can access the texts of each speaker, their presentation (if available) and the video of each session by clicking the links below.

PLENARY SESSION

Frank Fredericks

Keynote speaker

Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video

Felipe Munoz Kapamas

NOC representative

Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video

Alexander Popov

IOC representative

Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video

Lamine Diack

IF representative

Read the text
Watch the video

DISCUSSION SESSIONS

1) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ATHLETES, THE CLUBS, FEDERATIONS AND THE NOCS

Video of the discussion session

XIII Olympic Congress - Copenhagen 2009

PUBLICATIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS

THE XIII OLYMPIC CONGRESS

Jacques Rogge

IOC President

Ban Ki-moon

UN Secretary General

PLENARY SESSION

Frank Fredericks

Keynote speaker

Felipe Munoz Kapamas

NOC representative

Alexander Popov

IOC representative

Lamine Diack

IF representative

DISCUSSION SESSIONS

1) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ATHLETES, THE CLUBS, FEDERATIONS AND THE NOCS

Guy Drut

Moderator

Nawal El Moutawakel

IOC representative

Carlos Arthur Nuzman

NOC representative

Robert H. Storey

IF representative

Yaping Deng

Stakeholder representative

2) HEALTH PROTECTION IN TRAINING AND COMPETITION

Arne Ljungqvist

Moderator

Rania Elwani

IOC representative

Robin E. Mitchell

NOC representative

Philip Craven

MBE IF representative

Claudia Bokel

Stakeholder representative

3) THE SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF ATHLETES DURING AND AFTER ELITE COMPETITION

Peter Tallberg

Moderator

Hicham El Guerrouj

IOC representative

Sergey Bubka

NOC representative

Pat McQuaid

IF representative

Pernilla Wiberg

Stakeholder representative

PLENARY SESSION

Jean-Claude Killy

Keynote speaker

Gunilla Lindberg

NOC representative

Denis Oswald

IOC representative

René Fasel

IF representative

DISCUSSION SESSIONS

1) HOW TO KEEP THE GAMES AS A PREMIER EVENT?

Hein Verbruggen

Moderator

HRH the Prince of Orange

IOC representative

Gianni Petrucci

NOC representative

Klaus Schormann

IF representative

Vitaly Smirnov

Stakeholder representative

2) OLYMPIC VALUES

Richard W. Pound, Q.C.

Moderator

Mario Pescante

IOC representative

Alejandro Blanco Bravo

NOC representative

Ottavio Cinquanta