World programmes

These days, the entourage occupies a central role in an athlete’s career and is key to progress. So many factors are essential to have the right entourage: people aware of key areas such as anti-doping and protecting clean athletes, preventing discrimination and harassment, preventing manipulation of competitions. The Entourage world programmes support members of the entourage, including coaches, by providing them with the tools to improve their knowledge at all levels.

These programmes also support other key elements of an athlete’s career, including being heard off the field of play, for example through their NOC’s Athlete Commission, and planning their career transition, thanks to the training programmes and workshops of the IOC’s  Athlete365 Career+ Power Up Outreach Programme. Another objective of these programmes is to encourage NOCs to take a rigorous approach when selecting their candidates, as course participants will subsequently be expected to help develop the overall sports structure in the region or country, and to promote the participation of women by encouraging them to nominate female applicants for the various programmes.

From grassroots to elite level, from amateur structures to professional athletes, sport development occupies an important place within the programmes implemented by Olympic Solidarity, in collaboration with the International and National Federations and other key partners. These programmes are divided into four main areas: supporting young athletes on their path to a promising career and to qualifying for the YOG, supporting athletes in successfully moving from the regional or continental level to the world stage, supporting athletes who had to flee their home country by enabling them to compete as a refugee athlete, and supporting sport development in various countries on a large scale by assisting them in expanding their national sport system.

The Youth Olympic Games represent an important step in the development process of tomorrow’s champions. The NOCs are involved from the very start thanks to the programmes available, which focus on the identification, qualification and preparation of their young athletes.

Continental and Regional Games represent a great opportunity for many NOCs to witness their athletes and teams winning medals. Participation in these Games is a key factor in reaching the highest level. By investing in these athletes at intermediate level, Olympic Solidarity fills the gap between the youth and elite levels.

Olympic Solidarity does not forget the athletes who had to face particularly challenging situations in their lives: the refugee athletes. Olympic Solidarity helps them and encourages their sporting development by giving them the opportunity to train for and take part in high-level competitions without being penalised by the situation in their country.

Finally, with a view toward the long term, Olympic Solidarity supports another key aspect of sport development by contributing to strengthening the national sports system of various countries. By offering this type of assistance to NOCs, Olympic Solidarity contributes to a significant and sustainable improvement in sport which will benefit all the people who are active in this field.

The educational aspect of Olympism and the Olympic values are the foundation of the unique character of the Olympic Movement. Sport thus represents a powerful tool and has the potential to play a fundamental role within society at large, particularly with respect to the younger generations.

The main factor behind the success and universality of the Games is the shared belief in a better world through sport in a spirit of respect, friendship, solidarity and fair play. The Olympic Values are at the core of our activities, therefore Olympic Solidarity has implemented a programme entirely dedicated to them, with the five programmes of the 2017-2020 plan being merged into one single programme for 2021-2024, covering the same fields as until now.

The aim of the Olympic values programme is to ensure that NOCs are able to promote them at a national level, that they are integrated in everyday sports activities and celebrated, for example on Olympic Day.

The activities implemented by the NOCs within the scope of this programme should contribute to one of the following global objectives:

1. A change at organisational level within the NOCs, the NFs, clubs, etc., creating the necessary structures for a safe, sustainable and inclusive sporting movement; or
2. A change at community level, for example by encouraging more people to be physically active and practice sport, giving them access to Olympic and values-based education, or by promoting and preserving Olympic culture and heritage.

Manage, train, exchange: the keys to success

These priorities are achieved through NOC management programmes offering financial assistance and support for projects aimed at strengthening management. The programmes also offer several training opportunities for sports administrators, and facilitate exchanges of information and experiences between NOCs.

Each year, the NOCs are eligible to receive an administrative subsidy to assist them with covering their running costs, and can submit projects aimed at improving various aspects of their management. Educational opportunities are also available to the members and staff of NOCs and their affiliates, such as: Sport Administrators Courses, Advanced Sport Management Courses and scholarships for the Executive Masters in Sports Organisation Management (MEMOS). Moreover, NOC Exchanges enable NOCs to learn from each other in order to find practical and tested solutions to the challenges they all face in their daily operations.

The “Forums for NOCs and their Athletes” and “Special Projects” programmes add targeted services to the range of World Programmes. Various activities are initiated and managed by the Olympic Solidarity office in Lausanne, in cooperation with the continental offices, and offered to the NOCs concerned. These initiatives cover among others the Regional Forums, which promote concepts and ideas to groups of NOCs and facilitate the process of exchanging knowledge and experience among them; topical seminars for all CNO or groups of NOCs which provide specific training according to their needs; and special requests from NOCs as a result of extraordinary or unexpected circumstances according the overall situation of the NOC.