NOCs keep benefitting from IOC-INTERPOL programme
NOCs, as important partners in preventing competition manipulation, are continuing to participate in educational seminars put on jointly by the IOC and INTERPOL, aimed at improving cooperation between state authorities, law enforcement bodies and sports organisations at national level.
One such seminar was organised in Skopje (North Macedonia) in early October and brought together (in person) representatives from the seven NOCs of Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as their counterparts from national law enforcement and state authorities. The aim was to get these key national stakeholders to discuss strategies, coordinate practical matters and learn together from case studies to set the foundations for a national cooperation framework, also often called a national platform. This model has proven most successful in improving efficiency in fighting competition manipulation across sectors at national level.
There was good interaction between the more than 100 participants, and Lana Grgic, integrity expert (single point of contact – SPOC) at the NOC of Bosnia Herzegovina, said after the meeting:
“Thanks to the IOC-INTERPOL seminar, we had the chance to consolidate our understanding on the topic, but most importantly to understand how we can work together with relevant stakeholders at national level towards the creation of a national platform. Networking with stakeholders from different countries who have already developed their national cooperation was also very helpful.”
Likewise, in November, another IOC-INTERPOL webinar was organised in a hybrid format for key stakeholders in Sri Lanka. For the first time, representatives from the country’s sports organisations, law enforcement and state authorities came together to address mutually relevant issues. The webinar included information on the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder group, highlighting the need for cooperation at national level. As was the case in Skopje, the more than 50 participants were presented with successful examples of national platforms and discussed specific case studies.
Coming up
In December, the OM Unit PMC will organise a webinar for NOCs in the Oceania-Pacific region, with the participation of ONOC and the Pacific Games Council. The NOCs will learn about their role and possible interventions to prevent competition manipulation, as well as key matters related to the investigation of specific cases. External speakers will include experts from INTERPOL, the UNODC and the CoE.
If you are part of an NOC and are keen to learn more about how to protect sports integrity in your country, contact omunitpmc@olympic.org.