POSTED: Monday September 14th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tokyo 2016 continues efforts to unite youth with Olympism at International Seminar on Youth & Sport

Tokyo looks to leave a Youth and Education legacy

Tokyo, 14 September 2009 – Tokyo 2016, which has placed youth engagement at the heart of its Bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the heart of Japan’s dynamic capital city, has joined calls for interaction between youth and the values of Olympism at the International Seminar on Youth & Sport.

The event saw keynote speeches by Sir Clive Woodward, Director of Olympic Performance for the British Olympic Association and 2003 IRB Rugby World Cup-winning England Coach, and Dr Ismail Jakoet, founding member of the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport.

More than 300 people involved with the advancement of Japanese sport attended the seminar to share their thoughts on the merits of approaching young people through the values of sport, healthy living and making an honest effort. The audience included national coaches and directors, Olympians and many other people committed to inspiring youth through sport.

The International Seminar on Youth & Sport was held under the sponsorship of the Jigoro Kano Memorial International Sport Institute, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health, the Japanese Olympic Committee, the Japan Sports Association, Japan Anti-Doping Agency and Japan Professional Sports Association.

This event commemorated the centennial anniversary of Judo-founder Jigoro Kano’s appointment to the IOC as the first Asian member in 1909. As part of the “100-year legacy” plan stated in the Tokyo 2016 Candidature File, the Institute was founded in May 2009 to promote the values of Olympism, particularly through education and global outreach in the name of Kano, who helped to launch a century of close cooperation and collaboration between Japan and the Olympic Movement.

Tokyo 2016 has gone to unique lengths to inspire youth throughout Japan with the values and history of the Olympic Movement. Initiatives have ranged from nationwide meetings between schoolchildren and Japanese Olympic heroes, to the creation of a special position within Tokyo 2016 for a Director of Youth and Sport, who ensures that young people are listened to and maintain a real sense of involvement in Tokyo 2016.

The Bid has also entered into collaborations with several leading Japanese universities to promote the role of sport both in and alongside education, introduced textbooks on the Olympic Movement distributed to schools across the country, and raised youth awareness through joining a project to erect an 18m-high figure of an iconic anime robot, Mobile Suit Gundam, in Tokyo.

In keeping with the treasured legacy inspired by Jigoro Kano, Tokyo 2016 promises to launch a new 100-year Olympic and Paralympic legacy for Japan and the Olympic Movement through the most compact, sustainable and athlete-friendly Games in history. The city will become a sport-infused, universally accessible and environmentally-friendly metropolis which can serve as a showcase 21st-century urban centre.

Dr Ichiro Kono, Chair and CEO of Tokyo 2016, said:

“The International Seminar on Youth & Sport has been a great opportunity for Tokyo 2016 to share our unique plan for a 100-year legacy with other sporting visionaries committed to both the Olympic values and to uniting youth with sport and healthy living. Tokyo 2016 continues setting the stage for heroes, both to create a memorable Games in 2016 Games, and for youth in the city, throughout Japan and across the world to fulfil their potential.”

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Keywords · Tokyo 2016 · International Seminar on Youth & Sport · Olympic bids

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