STATEMENT: IOC Olympism 365 Strategy
The international equality-in-sport charity, equitysport, welcomes the news that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board have endorsed the Olympism 365 strategy over the weekend.
The adoption of this ambitious strategy is a long overdue acknowledgement that the IOC has an important and tangible role to play in society beyond simply organising the Olympic Games.
The potential of global sport to act as an enabler of positive social, economic and environmental change is undeniable. We, at equitysport, frustrated by the modern-day IOC's passivity and inaction on contemporary social issues, have long advocated for it to take a bolder, committed and more engaged role in championing and advancing the role of sport in creating a better world.
We look forward to closely monitoring the delivery of Olympism 365 over the coming months and years, and celebrating its inevitable successes along the way.
We stand ready to collaborate and contribute to enhance policies, initiatives and frameworks relevant to our mission and vision for a fairer, more equitable global sporting ecosystem for all.
Tim Harper, Executive Director at equitysport added:
"With a sense of guarded optimism, we welcome the renewed commitments by the IOC's Executive Board to foreground these important issues and advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in and through sport.
The modern-day IOC are unbelievably efficient at developing and communicating corporate strategy. However, the actions and decisions of the IOC must now match the lofty rhetoric the organisation increasingly preaches, but fails to practice itself.
In declaring further commitments to sustainability, equality, diversity, peace and justice around the world, the host city for the upcoming Winter Olympics, for example, seems ever more at odds with the high-flying words and noble sentiment emanating from Lausanne.
We hope that the Olympism 365 strategy signals a new determined approach from the IOC to re-engage with the values that underpin Olympic sport and are held dear by sporting communities the world over - values that for too long have been in retreat at Olympic House."
You can access the IOC's own press release regarding Olympism 365 here.
equitysport is a UK-registered values-based international charity (1189559) that exists to advance and promote equality, diversity and equal opportunity in and through global sport. Through free-form development, targeted advocacy, vocational training and education programmes the charity seeks an inclusive and equitable sporting ecosystem that lives up to the true ideals of sport.
Notes to Editors: For interviews or further comment, please contact the team via: campaigns@equitysport.org