Colombo, Sri Lanka, September 6, 2024: The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka inspired schoolchildren with a pilot launch of the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) at the De La Salle College in Colombo.
The OVEP-SPAIC plan (School Programme for Arete, Innovation and Citizenship), embedding Olympic values into the primary school layer, brought together more than 600 students in grade 3 to 5 from 13 schools in the Colombo North Education Zone.
Students had the opportunity to engage in creative showcases reflecting core Olympic values of joy, effort, fair play, respect for others, pursuit of excellence, and balance between body and mind under a comprehensive agenda spread across classrooms, playground and theatre.
Sri Lanka NOC Secretary General Maxwell de Silva and NOC Academic Director B.L.H. Perera was among the distinguished guests which also included Mrs. G.K. Perera, Assistant Director of Education from the Colombo Zonal Education Office, host-school principal Rev. R.J. Jeyakanthan, Olympian Niluka Karunaratne, and principals of other schools.
“The Olympic Values Education Programme is more than just an educational initiative,” Maxwell de Silva stated in his address. “It’s a movement towards cultivating a generation of well-rounded individuals who are not only skilled in sports but also imbued with values essential for personal development and societal harmony.”
The NOC extended its gratitude to host school De La Salle College whose exceptional collaboration resulted in 70 teachers, 45 senior prefects and more than 250 parents being involved in the collective commitment to fostering Olympic values in young minds.
This pilot scheme will serve as a benchmark for future programmes run by the Sri Lanka NOC.