“Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People”: IOC and Samsung launch new digital community to engage young Olympic fans and drive positive change 

“Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People”, which was unveiled at an event in Paris on 31 July, is a joint initiative between Samsung and the IOC aimed at engaging younger generations and creating a positive impact in the world through sport and technology.

The new digital community is designed around the goal of helping young people experience three core values – social contribution, health and creativity – and enables them to participate in a series of collaborative Olympic challenges designed to create a better tomorrow.

The initiative builds on Samsung’s existing Together for Tomorrow initiatives, which aim to empower and support the next generation to achieve their full potential and pioneer positive social changes.

“I am impressed by the opportunities that Samsung's “Together for Tomorrow” has given to hundreds of thousands of young people to develop as future leaders,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “They will be our innovators of tomorrow, and I look forward to seeing them tackle various challenges facing our world. We’re pleased to join with our Worldwide Partner Samsung to continue to work together to identify and support talented young people at the intersection of sport and technology through the “Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People” initiative.”

Challenges to create a better tomorrow

Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People will invite young people from all over the world to participate in three impactful challenges that leverage the transformative power of sport and technology to make a meaningful difference in the world.

These include the Solve Challenge, which is being held in conjunction with Solve for Tomorrow, Samsung's youth-focused social contribution initiative, and aims to empower young people to think up solutions combining sport and tech that improve education and livelihoods, promote health and active communities, increase equality and inclusion, and help bring about safer and peaceful communities.

This challenge aligns with the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy, which works towards strengthening the role of sport as an important enabler for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and with Samsung’s Together for Tomorrow vision, which aims to empower people to create positive change and drive collaborations that address some of the world’s most pressing issues.

In addition to the Solve Challenge, the Move for Tomorrow Challenge will motivate the community to be more active and adopt healthier lifestyles. Through the Samsung Health app, it will encourage users around the world to walk more and track their steps to promote better health and well-being. All participants will have the opportunity to contribute their steps to a cumulative total, with the objective being to see how many times they can collectively circumnavigate the globe using their combined steps. To mark their progress, past Olympic host cities such as Paris, Los Angeles, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro and Athens will serve as milestones.

Finally, the Create for Tomorrow Challenge will encourage people to embrace their creativity through PENUP, Samsung’s digital painting app, by asking them to create digital art inspired by the Olympic Games. In collaboration with the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, the challenge aims to foster a vibrant community of artists who draw inspiration from the spirit of the Games.

“This project – creating a programme in which young people can directly participate and experience the Olympic values – is a wonderful outcome from our long-standing collaboration with the IOC,” said YH Lee, President and Head of Global Marketing Office at Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to support young people in taking on bold and meaningful challenges towards a brighter future.”

Leveraging sport and technology to improve society

“Solve for Tomorrow – Sport & Tech” has been developed by the IOC and Samsung in collaboration with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and will focus on ideas and solutions that use sport, in combination with technology, as a tool for sustainable development, and that enable more people from diverse backgrounds to access the benefits of sport.

Participants in the challenge will be able to propose innovative solutions that leverage sport and technology to make a difference to people and communities most in need.

These solutions will contribute to one of four priority themes aligned with the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy – Education and Livelihoods; Health and Active Communities; Equality and Inclusive Communities; and Safe and Peaceful Communities – with members of the Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People digital platform able to vote on which of the themes the challenge should address.

Young people from all over the world will then be able to propose their ideas and solutions related to the winning theme, with each proposal assessed by the IOC, the IPC and Samsung.

Those young people whose ideas are shortlisted will then have the opportunity to develop their solutions through workshops led by industry experts and mentorship from Samsung employees and IOC Young Leaders. Ten global winners will also receive funding to help bring their ideas to life. The first collaboration will be happening during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on 1 August at the Samsung showcase, through a meet and greet between IOC Young Leaders and Samsung ambassadors, with the aim of kicking off future collaborations.

Solve for Tomorrow – Sport & Tech is one of the initiatives created from the IOC’s purpose-led partnerships strategy, aimed at better integrating commercial partners into the IOC’s delivery of its mission to build a better world through sport.

“Building a brighter future for our planet”

The platform’s launch event in Paris saw 10 teams that excelled in Samsung's Solve for Tomorrow programme announced as Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People ambassadors. Throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the ambassadors will showcase the solutions they’ve created to address social challenges and work to engage Olympic fans around the world. They will also collaborate with members of the IOC Young Leaders Programme – as well as other outstanding young sports leaders supported by the IOC – to spread the Olympic spirit of mutual understanding and help pursue peace through sport.

“Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow empowers ordinary high-school students with the courage to change the world," said Ngan Huu Kim Le, a member of the US team that developed an insect-based environmental clean-up solution. “It’s an honour to take part and have a chance to present our solution to help build a brighter future for our planet here at Paris 2024 with prominent athletes from around the world."

Other Solve for Tomorrow projects designed to address real-world problems were also presented at the event. Ramneek Kaur Ahluwalia, a member of the British team, presented MyVision, a mobility aid she developed with AI and GPS technologies to help her overcome visual impairment and navigate her surroundings. The Peruvian team proposed an artificial splint made from plastic bottles for low-income patients, while the Turkish team proposed a waste disposal bin for the high-temperature incineration of medical needles, to ensure healthcare worker safety.