Stronger Together
Support within the NOCs and parties of the Olympic Movement is essential – be it in extraordinary circumstances, governance matters or knowledge sharing. The year 2023 was a proof of that once again.
Responding to extraordinary circumstances
The Olympic Movement announced an emergency fund of USD 1 million to help the Olympic community, refugees and displaced people in areas affected by the devasting earthquake that hit Türkiye and Syria in February 2023. The IOC, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the European Olympic Committees (EOC) each donated USD 250,000, while the Olympic Refuge Foundation made available USD 260,000 for assistance to the Olympic communities affected by the tragedy, the local population and refugees in Türkiye.
When providing responses to extraordinary circumstances affecting NOCs, the IOC always aims to maximise the impact of its action by partnering with organisations of the Olympic Movement, primarily the Continental Association of NOCs of the continent concerned. The IOC support may also be accompanied by funding from the Olympic Solidarity fund for special projects.
Advancing governance
In 2023, the IOC continued to support the implementation of good governance principles by NOCs, recognising this as essential for the smooth and efficient operation of organisations within the Olympic Movement. The NOC Institutional and Governance Services unit provided assistance and guidance to more than 80 NOCs in the process of reviewing and updating their statutes to make them fully compliant with the Olympic Charter and the Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance within the Olympic Movement. As a result, 34 NOCs concluded the process during the year and could have their statutes formally approved by the IOC. In addition, 52 NOCs conducted their elections in compliance with their statutes and the Olympic Charter, and the results were acknowledged by the IOC. The unit has also supported NOCs in the resolution of internal governance issues and/or disputes with their respective governments, with a view to preserving the responsible autonomy of the NOCs in line with the Olympic Charter.
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Sharing knowledge and reinforcing administrative capacities
Olympic Solidarity provides each NOC with an annual Administrative Subsidy of USD 45,000 towards their running costs, plus an Additional Administrative Subsidy of USD 15,000 for those NOCs whose main revenue source is Olympic Solidarity. In 2023, the Administrative Subsidy was taken up by 200 NOCs, and the Additional Administrative Subsidy by 25. Some 58 NOCs also received assistance in 2023 for projects aimed at strengthening their administration in such areas as IT, capacity building, finance, strategic planning and communications.
The goal of this programme is to strengthen the capacity of NOCs and their constituents through management training, delivered to national and regional sports administrators by NOCs using training materials and course frameworks provided by Olympic Solidarity. In 2023, 57 NOCs completed 136 Sports Administration Courses, benefitting 4,666 participants, while 603 participants from 29 NOCs completed a total of 33 Advanced Sports Management Courses.
Olympic Solidarity offers access to high-level international sports management training through MEMOS (Executive Masters in Sport Organisation Management), and funded 53 MEMOS scholarships for participants from 48 NOCs in 2023.
NOC Exchanges are designed to help strengthen NOCs’ administrative structures, and are thus an important part of organisational learning. In 2023, eight one-year projects were approved in 2023, in addition to two multi-year and long-term projects that began in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Two editions of the IOC Immersion stay programme took place in 2023, allowing NOC staff members to get familiar with IOC working processes and engage with their IOC counterparts. Thirteen NOC staff members – seven women and six men - were selected from the NOCs of Algeria, Barbados, Czechia, Hungary, Malawi, New Zealand, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Surinam and Zambia.