POSTED: Friday November 18th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London 2012's International Inspiration programme launches in Ghana

Ghana has become the latest country to benefit from International Inspiration, the ground-breaking international legacy programme of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
International Inspiration Ghana was officially launched on Friday 18 November at the British Council office in Accra where a memorandum of understanding was officially signed by the Ghanaian Minister of Education Betty Mould-Iddrissu, and the Minister of Youth & Sports, Clement Kofi Humado and the British High Commissioner.
International Inspiration is London 2012’s official international sports legacy programme and is bringing to life the promise made by the London 2012 bid team where they pledged to reach young people all around the world and connect them to the inspirational power of the Games so they are inspired to choose sport. The delivery partners for the programme are the British Council, UNICEF UK and UK Sport.
The agreement was signed in front of students from 20 schools in Ghana and the UK who are linked by the British Council thanks to International Inspiration. To mark the launch young people from the International Inspiration schools who have been empowered to become ‘Young Leaders’ acted out short plays that demonstrated the power of sport to unite people across schools and communities. The performances were organised in association with the Beckwith International Leadership Development (BILD) programme, which is supporting International Inspiration in Ghana.
Seb Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: ‘Sport has always been an essential part of my life and I know the benefits it can bring to someone’s life. That’s why I’m delighted to welcome Ghana as the latest country to the International Inspiration programme - through this we will be reaching out to and inspiring thousands more children and young people to go beyond their personal best.’
International Inspiration will work in partnership with the Ghanaian government, BILD and other local organisations. The programme is supported by a unique partnership of organisations including UK Sport, UNICEF and the British Council.
International Inspiration is delivering on its international legacy promise a year earlier than planned and, having already achieved its vision of reaching 12 million children and young people around the world, will now focus on ensuring the programme is sustainable and will leave a lasting legacy in these countries after the final year of the programme in 2014.
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Notes to editors:
The International Inspiration programme is governed by an independent charitable foundation. It is delivered through a partnership between UK Sport, UNICEF, British Council and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and supported by other partners including the UK Government, including the Department for International Development, the Youth Sport Trust, the Premier League, the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association and individual donors.
To enable longer-term impact, the programme is developed jointly with the governments, National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees, where appropriate, of participating countries. The programme is supported and welcomed by the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee.
The vision of International Inspiration is to use the power of sport to enrich the lives of millions of children and young people of all abilities in schools and communities across the world, particularly developing countries, by offering them the opportunity to access and participate in high-quality and inclusive sport, physical education and play. The programme is already changing the lives of young people in nineteen countries - Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Jordan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Zambia - and has already enriched the lives of over 12 million children and young people.
International Inspiration was developed as a result of the commitment made by the London Bid team in Singapore in 2005 to ‘reach young people all around the world and connect them to the inspirational power of the Games so they are inspired to choose sport’.
The school partnerships are managed by the British Council, which has long experience of linking schools internationally, working in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, which utilises its expertise in developing teachers and young leaders through sport.
London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters - Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers - Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock.

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Keywords · London 2012 · London 2012 Paralympic Games · Ghana

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