The XIII Olympic Congress, entitled “The Olympic Movement in society”, was held from 3 to 5 October 2009 in Copenhagen (Denmark) and brought together more than one thousand participants.
The Congress provided a rare opportunity for the entire Olympic Family (i.e. IOC members, representatives of National Olympic Committee (NOCs), International Federations (IFs), the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGS), athletes, coaches, media, sponsors and other stakeholders) to meet and discuss issues of importance to the entire Movement.
In his keynote speech to the Congress, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to the excellent collaboration between the United Nations (UN) and the IOC. (The IOC was granted UN observer status at the end of 2009).
In his concluding remarks, he declared: “If you asked me to jog around this conference room, I would probably run out of breath. But when it comes to fighting for our shared global goals – for a world that is cleaner, healthier, more peaceful and more prosperous – I will sprint like an Olympian. I will ski the steepest trail. I will run and run and never stop until we reach the first line. I am counting on all of you to join me. We must go for the gold.”
Over the course of the three day Congress, participants heard from many respected speakers and had interesting discussions on the following themes:
- the Athletes
- the Olympic Games
- the Structure of the Olympic Movement
- Olympism and Youth and
- the Digital Revolution.
Each of these themes was further subdivided into three subthemes.
A half day was devoted to the discussions of each of the five themes at the Congress. The plenary sessions were followed by three simultaneous breakout sessions on the respective subthemes. (The texts of the speeches can be found under the relevant themes).
All the sessions were livecast over the internet to allow the general public to hear the discussions as they happened. (The videos of the plenary and discussion sessions of each theme can be found under the related tabs).
The breakout session on each of the subthemes began with presentations from a panel of speakers. The moderators of each panel were then responsible for the ensuing discussion period, which gave participants the opportunity to voice their opinions on the issues. The main points from each breakout session were carefully recorded by rapporteurs who informed the Editorial Committee of the discussions at the end of each day. The final document reflects the main ideas to come out of the proceedings in Copenhagen as well as information collected through the Virtual Olympic Congress. The Virtual Olympic Congress allowed the Olympic Family and the public to submit written contributions on the five themes during the preparatory phase.
The XIII Olympic Congress was a great success and has left the Olympic Movement with a blue print for the future. It is now time to translate words into action and implement the 66 recommendations. (See below for a PDF version of the recommendations)
PUBLICATIONS
View the publication «XIII Olympic Congress - Contributions»
View the publication «XIII Olympic Congress – Proceedings»
View the publication «XIII Olympic Congress – Follow-up»
RECOMMENDATIONS
THE XIII OLYMPIC CONGRESS
View the video of the Opening Ceremony of the XIII Olympic Congress
View the video of the Closing Ceremony of the XIII Olympic Congress
Jacques Rogge
IOC President
View the text of Jacques Rogge’s speech at the Opening Ceremony
View the text of Jacques Rogge’s speech at the Closing Ceremony
View the video of Jacques Rogge’s speech at the Opening Ceremony
Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary General
View the text of Ban Ki-moon’s speech at the Opening Ceremony
View the video of Ban Ki-moon’s speech at the Opening Ceremony
Olympic medallist and IOC member Frank Fredericks set the tone for the first theme, “The Athletes”, by illustrating the power of sport with a personal example. “Sport changed my life. What I am today is because of what sport has given me. What I have built, what I have discovered, what I have achieved is thanks to sport” he said. “We have a responsibility to the younger generation to let them know that taking part in sport is a wonderful life experience”, he continued.
As IOC President Jacques Rogge declared, “this Olympic Congress will go down in history as that of young people and the athletes!” In his view, the number one priority for the whole Olympic Movement should be to defend the interests of young people and athletes.
The 66 recommendations from the Olympic Congress include proposals to better protect the physical and mental health of the athletes, to ensure their safety and to help them prepare for their career transition. The delegates also called for the creation of a commission to address issues pertaining to coaches, trainers and members of the athletes’ entourage.
You can access the texts of each speaker, their presentation (if available) and the video of each session by clicking the links below.
PLENARY SESSION
Frank Fredericks
Keynote speaker
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Felipe Munoz Kapamas
NOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Alexander Popov
IOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Lamine Diack
IF representative
DISCUSSION SESSIONS
1) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ATHLETES, THE CLUBS, FEDERATIONS AND THE NOCS
Video of the discussion session
Guy Drut
Moderator
Nawal El Moutawakel
IOC representative
Carlos Arthur Nuzman
NOC representative
Robert H. Storey
IF representative
Yaping Deng
Stakeholder representative
2) HEALTH PROTECTION IN TRAINING AND COMPETITION
Video of the discussion session
Arne Ljungqvist
Moderator
Rania Elwani
IOC representative
Robin E. Mitchell
NOC representative
Philip Craven
MBE IF representative
Claudia Bokel
Stakeholder representative
3) THE SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF ATHLETES DURING AND AFTER ELITE COMPETITION
Video of the discussion session
Peter Tallberg
Moderator
Hicham El Guerrouj
IOC representative
Sergey Bubka
NOC representative
Pat McQuaid
IF representative
Pernilla Wiberg
Stakeholder representative
In his keynote speech on this theme Jean-Claude Killy, Olympic medallist and IOC member, noted that, “Every two years, alternately in summer and in winter, a very large part of the world lives and breathes the Games. The Olympic Games are a passage between before and after; they are a reference to which everyone can attach memories and emotions, whatever the political, economic or cultural context. The Games bring out heroes, joys and dramas, which break into our collective memory and the universal memory.”
During the discussion sessions, delegates stressed the importance of keeping respect for the fundamental principles of Olympism at the heart of the Games.
They also focused on the need for a periodic adjustment and review of the sports programme and the importance of fully integrating new values such as the environment, sustainable development and social responsibility through the Olympic ideals.
You can access the texts of each speaker, their presentation (if available) and the video of each session by clicking the links below.
PLENARY SESSION
Jean-Claude Killy
Keynote speaker
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Gunilla Lindberg
NOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Denis Oswald
IOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
René Fasel
IF representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
DISCUSSION SESSIONS
1) HOW TO KEEP THE GAMES AS A PREMIER EVENT?
Video of the discussion session
Hein Verbruggen
Moderator
HRH the Prince of Orange
IOC representative
Gianni Petrucci
NOC representative
Klaus Schormann
IF representative
Vitaly Smirnov
Stakeholder representative
2) OLYMPIC VALUES
Video of the discussion session
Richard W. Pound, Q.C.
Moderator
Mario Pescante
IOC representative
Alejandro Blanco Bravo
NOC representative
Ottavio Cinquanta
IF representative
Zhenliang He
Stakeholder representative
HSH the Sovereign Prince Albert II
Stakeholder representative
3) UNIVERSALITY AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Video of the discussion session
Richard Kevan Gosper, A.O
Moderator
Chiharu Igaya
IOC representative
Intendant General Lassana Palenfo
NOC representative
Joseph S. Blatter
IF representative
Sam Ramsamy
Stakeholder representative
Keynote speaker Thomas Bach, made an appeal for the protection of the autonomy of sport. The IOC Vice-President and President of the German Olympic Committee pointed out that sports organisations constantly have to deal with threats to their autonomy.y
He warned Congress delegates that these attacks come “in many different forms.” “I am sure that subsequent speakers will provide a whole host of examples from the perspective of National Olympic Committees, International Federations or painful personal experiences. You will hear about governments' attempts to prevent elections, to appoint presidents of sports organisations themselves and to manipulate voting. Many of you in this room have even suffered personally with your families. You deserve tremendous respect and gratitude for your commitment to the autonomy and values of sport” he continued to say.
In his speech Thomas Bach spoke about his own experiences with political interference in sport. As an Olympic fencing gold medallist at the 1976 Games in Montreal, he was unable to take part in the following edition of the Games because of the partial boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow. For him, sport deserves its autonomy because of its unique role in society.
As he argued, “Sport is the only social sector that has actually achieved what political philosophy calls “global law” and what moral philosophy calls “global ethos”. The rules of sport, based on the principle of fair play, apply to every athlete all over the world. These rules can only be enforced by an autonomous sporting structure, which also created them. They help to protect fair competition and promote the competitiveness of athletes and federations.”
You can access the texts of each speaker, their presentation (if available) and the video of each session by clicking the links below.
PLENARY SESSION
Thomas Bach
Keynote speaker
Mario Vázquez Raña
NOC representative
Ser Miang Ng
IOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Francesco Ricci Bitti
IF representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
DISCUSSION SESSIONS
1) THE AUTONOMY OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT
Video of the discussion session
Lambis V. Nikolaou
Moderator
Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah
IOC representative
Lord Colin Moynihan
NOC representative
Jérôme Champagne
IF representative
Aïcha Garad Ali
Stakeholder representative
2) GOOD GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS
Video of the discussion session
Youssoupha Ndiaye
Moderator
Francisco J. Elizalde
IOC representative
Michael A. Chambers
NOC representative
Anders Besseberg
IF representative
James L. Easton
Stakeholder representative
3) THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT AND ITS STAKEHOLDERS
Video of the discussion session
Gerhard Heiberg
Moderator
Anita L. DeFrantz
IOC representative
Julio César Maglione
NOC representative
Hassan Moustafa
IF representative
Muhtar Kent
Stakeholder representative
Inactivity is “a problem that threatens to become as urgent and critical as that of global warming or poverty.”
This was the message of keynote speaker José Manuel Ramos Horta, President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Prize winner. He described this inactivity as a serious and growing threat to world health, quoting figures from a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which shows that sedentarity is one of the main risk factors for cardiac related problems and other non-transmissible diseases such as strokes, diabetes, cancer and asthma. The WHO study showed that, in 2004, non-transmissible diseases accounted for 60 per cent of deaths in the world. The Congress recommended that measures be taken to combat this inactivity, particularly among young people.
The Congress recommended closer cooperation between governments and sports organisations and that governments build more sports facilities as well as allocate more time for sports activities in schools, “at all ages and at all levels”.
The Congress described the Youth Olympic Games as “a unique opportunity in the history of the modern Olympic Movement to raise the bar worldwide in terms of the delivery of educational and sport programmes for all young people”.
You can access the texts of each speaker, their presentation (if available) and the video of each session by clicking the links below.
PLENARY SESSION
HE José Manuel Ramos-Horta
Keynote speaker
Patrick J. Hickey
NOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Rita Subowo
IOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Bob Elphinston
IF representative
DISCUSSION SESSIONS
1) MOVING TOWARDS AN ACTIVE SOCIETY
Video of the discussion session
Walther Tröger
Moderator
HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein
IOC representative
Raja Randhir Singh
NOC representative
Bruno Grandi
IF representative
Lord Sebastian Coe
Stakeholder representative
2) IS COMPETITIVE SPORT STILL APPEALING?
Video of the discussion session
Gudrun Doll-Tepper
Moderator
Ugur Erdener
IOC representative
Henri Sérandour
NOC representative
Mustafa Larfaoui
IF representative
Nicole Hoevertsz
Stakeholder representative
3) YOUTH SPORT EVENTS
Video of the discussion session
Michael S. Fennell
Moderator
Zaiqing Yu
IOC representative
Chee Hean Teo
NOC representative
Niels Nygaard
NOC representative
Guido de Bondt
Stakeholder representative
The digital revolution
Keynote speaker Martin Sorrell, CEO of the WPP Group urged the delegates at the XIII Olympic Congress to use digital technology to reach out to young people across the world. He explained the huge impact of mobile communications technology and called on the Olympic Movement to promote Olympic values in a dynamic and attractive way.
Martin Sorrell believed that the Olympic Movement should remain true to its values and look for new ways to share them with young people. His solution was simple, “Let the children play”. Additionally, Sorrell recommended giving “content to youth in formats they want – short and fast, customisable and easy to share” as well as extending “the franchise through music and cultural partnerships to leverage fresh support and momentum, and learn from today’s successful reality television shows.” He also recommended better utilising the new generation of sporting heroes such as Usain Bolt to make the Olympic Games more attractive to young people.
For their part, delegates recommended creating a Ditigal Task Force to help National Olympic Committees, International Federations and other Olympic bodies to promote Olympic values and sports practice through new media and digital technology. They also acknowledged the “digital divide” and advised the Olympic Movement to broaden access to technology.
You can access the texts of each speaker, their presentation (if available) and the video of each session by clicking the links below.
PLENARY SESSION
Sir Martin Sorrell
Keynote speaker
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Tsunekazu Takeda
NOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Richard L. Carrión
IOC representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
Patrick Baumann
IF representative
Read the text
View the presentation
Watch the video
DISCUSSION SESSIONS
1) A NEW MANAGEMENT OF SPORTS RIGHTS
Video of the discussion session
John D. Coates
AC Moderator
Ching-Kuo Wu
IOC representative
Veda Bruno-Victor
NOC representative
Jérôme Valcke
IF representative
Marisol Casado
Stakeholder representative
2) HOW TO INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE SPORTS AUDIENCE?
Video of the discussion session
Richard L. Carrión
Moderator
Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior
IOC representative
Norman D. Bellingham
NOC representative
Goran Petersson
IF representative
Nancy Lee
Stakeholder representative
3) COMMUNICATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Video of the discussion session
Manolo Romero
Moderator
Alex Gilady
IOC representative
HRH Prince Faisal Al Hussein
NOC representative
Sarah Lewis
IF representative
Anna Hellman
Stakeholder representative
