Guangzhou, China, April 22, 2024: OCA Director General and World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam, along with OCA Vice President Timothy Fok and World Aquatics Vice President Zhou Jihong, attended the unveiling of the new location for the OCA Official Library and sponsor signing ceremony in the Panyu district of Guangzhou city on April 20.
Established in Guangzhou in July 2019, the OCA Official Library aims to share knowledge and experience from past Asian Games and OCA projects with the public and various Asian Games organising committees, thereby contributing to the development of sports in Asia, said Mr. Al Musallam.
Xu Fengyun, Curator of the OCA Official Library, explained that they began collecting materials from past Asian Games in 2017, officially starting construction of the OCA Official Library in July 2019 with the authorisation of the OCA.
Over the past seven years they have gathered tens of thousands of publications, both public and non-public, and a vast amount of electronic data.
The centenary of the Asian Games, which has its roots in the first Far Eastern Championship Games in Manila in 1913, has played a significant role in fostering unity among the Asian people, enhancing mutual understanding and promoting the Games. The library not only preserves and honours the glorious history of these events but also serves as a continuous legacy, promoting the Asian Games.
The materials collected by the library have been effectively utilized. For example, during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, they used historical photos from the archive to produce a video recreating the 1974 performance of Chinese athletes, using AI restoration technology developed with Alibaba Cloud.
This project received high praise at the "1974 Tehran 7th Asian Games Special Exhibition" co-hosted by the OCA and the NOC of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
During his visit to the OCA Official Library in Guangzhou on Saturday, April 20, Mr. Al Musallam remarked that he was "surrounded by the sporting heritage and materials of past Olympic Council Asia events" and was "delighted to see these materials being shared across different sports events and receiving positive feedback."
*Hangzhou's official Asian Games suppliers, Emperor Doors and Windows, and Hangzhou Ban Ma Digital Culture Co., Ltd. also signed on as official sponsor of the OCA during the event.
