Lausanne, Switzerland, October 30, 2024: The IOC’s Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) has reached a major milestone: now in its third year of implementation in India, OVEP has engaged more than 12 million children across the country.
To mark the occasion, the Olympic Museum, which manages the programme, welcomed four children and two teachers from Assam to Lausanne, one year after OVEP was implemented in their state.
The delegation, organised through the Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust (ABFT), participated in the museum’s 43rd annual Olympic Week, which features sports and cultural activities for kids.
The IOC first partnered with the State Government of Odisha and ABFT to launch OVEP in India in 2022. The goal was to grow the Olympic Movement by integrating the Olympic values into the education system and fostering physical fitness, sporting spirit and social cohesion, with an emphasis on sport-integrated learning both within and beyond the classroom.
Just six months after introducing OVEP to Odisha students, schools reported a marked increase in attendance and participation in sports, particularly among girls. The State Government of Assam began incorporating the programme into 100 schools in October 2023, when it was officially launched by the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma.
“I remember the first activity that we did together with the class,” recalls 16-year-old Ratul Haque Choudhury, a student from Panbazar Higher Secondary School in Assam. “First, I wasn't very active, and I like to spend my time alone, because I like to draw. Then, after hearing the rules about the game – because the OVEP games are a little bit different – I was like, ‘what is the harm in joining?’, and I joined. That's when I felt the first joy of playing with everyone.”
ABFT and Reliance Foundation have made substantial progress in expanding OVEP initiatives, particularly in Odisha, Assam and Mumbai. The positive impact of OVEP has been widespread, engaging teachers, parents, athletes, coaches, sports and education professionals, and 12 million children in over 55,000 schools.
The change in students’ mindsets has been clear in just a short time, noted one teacher. “With OVEP, the activities are mostly mixed-gender,” said Suman Dey, a teacher at Bengali Higher Secondary School in Assam. “We have seen that the boys start having more respect for their girl classmates, and it also decreases the barrier between the girls and boys in our school. It’s more than academic success – we are also concentrating on character building.”
Olympic shooting champion Abhinav Bindra, a member of the IOC Olympic Education Commission, concluded: “It is inspiring to see how the Olympic Values Education Programme has not only enriched the lives of children in Assam’s government schools but has also brought them closer to the larger Olympic Movement.”
