Great news for India! India's first Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) was launched in Odisha on May 24, Tuesday. Lauding this, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Nita Ambani, stressed that this programme blends together the twin powers of education and sports in imparting the core values of Olympism. The OVEP, initiated by the IOC, is a set of resources devised to introduce young people to the values of the Olympics, namely excellence, respect and friendship. Its main focus is to disseminate this value-based curriculum to support children to become active, healthy and responsible citizens, as stated in a report by IANS. This launch stands as a build-up to the upcoming prestigious IOC 2023 session.
At the beginning of 2022, a delegation was led by Nita Ambani for India to host the IOC session in 2023, where, after a timeline of 40 years, India was almost unanimously awarded the rights. In India, the IOC will initiate a new era in Indian sports history by boosting India's Olympic aspirations backed by a sports ecosystem, which encourages and empowers the youth to sharpen their skills and achieve global laurels.
Highlighting the mission of the OVEP, Nita Ambani said, "We have over 250 million children in our schools, brimming with talent and potential. They are the champions of tomorrow, the future of our nation. Only a small number of children in the world may become Olympians, but every child can be touched by the ideals of Olympism. That is the mission of OVEP and that is what makes it a huge opportunity for India." Expressing her eagerness and enthusiasm to be hosting the next IOC session in India, she said, "As we prepare to host the IOC Session 2023 in Mumbai next year, I look forward to further strengthening the Olympic Movement in our country."
The OVEP was officially launched by Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, IOC Education Commission Chair Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski, Olympian and member of the IOC Athletes' Commission Abhinav Bindra, President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Narinder Batra and Nita Ambani. The OVEP, which is being developed in partnership with the Department of School and Mass Education, the Government of Odisha and the Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust, will be combined into the school education system of Odisha, as stated in a report by IANS. Further, Nita thanked the Odisha government for their constant support of India's Olympic dream and grassroots development.
In a press release by Reliance Foundation, Nita said, "Through increased investments and dedicated efforts, Odisha has become a hub of India's sporting ambitions. The state is actively creating a holistic ecosystem for sport, which provides top quality training and infrastructure to our young athletes." Reliance Foundation works closely with the Odisha government for the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Center (HPC). Impressively, two Reliance Foundation athletes from the HPC — Jyothi Yarraji and Amlan Borgohain — broke national records and bagged medals at international athletic events over the past month.
