Promoting Olympism
The founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de Coubertin, believed in the educational power of sports and wanted to develop a way of life, in which people find joy in exertion, pedagogical values in good examples, and a global respect for all human beings on the basis of the ethical values of sport.
The International Olympic Committee has assigned educational task to the International Olympic Academy (IOA). IOA takes care of the promotion of Olympism together with national Olympic academies, whose main task is, in short, to promote and spread the ethical and educational values of the Olympic movement and to make a better world with less discrimination and more solidarity through education of children by the means of Olympism. At present there are more than 130 national Olympic Academies all over the world.
Also in Finland, the Finnish Olympic Academy acts as an expert group of the Finnish Olympic Committee in the field of Olympic education. The Finnish Olympic Academy was founded in 1987. The Academy is composed of 12 members, who are nominated by the Finnish Olympic Committee for an Olympiad long term.
The Finnish Olympic Academy has two main forms of activity:
- Annual Sessions – The main task of annual sessions is to promote fundamental principles of Olympism. Subjects discussed include various aspects of the Olympic idea and current challenges of the Olympic Movement. The participants are local decision-makers, officials, teachers, members of sports associations, coaches, athletes, students in various fields as well as representatives of arts and sciences. Sessions are held annually in different economical and cultural areas of Finland. A report is drawn up on each meeting. The report contains all introductions in Finnish as well as short summaries in English.
- The Olympic Education Programme – The Olympic Education Programme is targeted at elementary and secondary schools. In co-operation with teachers the education programme lets children to learn the meaning of fair play, community spirit and tolerance. Elementary and secondary schools are also encouraged to organise an Olympic Day or even an Olympic Week during the Olympic Games.
In addition, the members of Finnish Olympic Academy or other sport related experts participate in the sessions of the International Olympic Academy.
