International Olympic Committee announces first ever Olympism in Action Forum

Forum to initiate global conversation on the role of sport in society

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is launching the first ever Olympism in Action Forum in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 5 and 6 October 2018. This new event is another concrete example of the implementation of the reforms outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020.

To further the momentum of using sport to build a better world as demonstrated by the joint march of North and South Korean athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 last February, the Olympism in Action Forum will bring together the Olympic Movement stakeholders and civil society at large to address challenging questions, open fresh dialogues and share innovative experiences and inspiring stories related to sport and society.

Taking place just before the third edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games, which will gather together the world's best young athletes from 6 to 18 October, the Olympism in Action Forum will aim to engage openly with the broader public and discuss how sport can create positive change around the world. The juxtaposition of the two events will also shine a spotlight on fresh thinking and new trends in sport.

Conversations during the Forum will take place through a variety of innovative formats, including plenary debates, collaborative workshops, live interviews and constructive and interactive dialogues with a diverse group of speakers and guests, including:

• Ban Ki-moon, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations

• Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires

• Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Laureate

• Phumzile Mlambo-Nkuka,Executive Director, UN Women

• Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch

• Reema Bint Bandar Al Saud, Vice President of Development and Planning/President of Mass Participation, General Sports Authority, Saudi Arabia

• Yusra Mardini, Olympic swimmer and member of the Refugee Olympic Team Rio 2016

• Yiech Pur Biel, Olympic track & field athlete and member of the Refugee Olympic Team Rio 2016

• Maria Toorpakai Wazir, squash player, Pakistan

• Lindsey Kittredge,Founder, Shooting Touch

The Olympism in Action Forum will cover a number of important issues in our contemporary world and address pressing questions such as: how can we better protect clean athletes, how can sport contribute to more active cities and healthy societies, what will the future of sport look like, how can sport advance the conversation on gender equality, why should a country/city host the Olympic Games, how can sport be used as a tool to educate and empower young people, what is the role of sport in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), etc.

The Forum will bring together some 1,500 participants from all spheres of society: athletes, International Federations, National Olympic Committees, business partners, UN agencies, NGOs, governments, private and public-sector leaders, academics, the media and artists.

The IOC invites and encourages everyone to join the initiative, attend the Olympism in Action Forum, participate in the dialogue, and be agents of change in their own communities. The ideas, perspectives and experiences shared during the Forum will shape the future of the Olympic Movement, bring about real change action and concretely help the IOC advance its mission to build a better world through sport.

To cover the event, find out how to register here.

About the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018

The Summer Youth Olympic Games are an elite multi-sport international event for the world's best young athletes aged 15 to 18 from 200 countries. Buenos Aires 2018 will mark the first time that an Olympic event has had an equal number of women and men athletes. There will be 1,999 women and 1,999 men competing in the 32 sports.
The Games will truly be a celebration of sport throughout the city. Across four different parks there will be: 286 competition sessions, 468 sport initiation sessions, cultural and educational activities for the general public and athletes, 241 medal events, 1,250 medals distributed and more than 300 hours of live competition broadcast.

Media Contact
Emmanuelle Moreau – IOC Head of Media Relations
Tel:  +41 21 621 6000
Email: pressoffice@olympic.org

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.4 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.

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