Olympia, Greece: A senior delegation from the Qatar Olympic Committee chaired by Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee and President of the Qatar Olympic Academy, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the International Olympic Academy (IOA) at the historic birthplace of the Olympic Movement in Ancient Olympia, Greece.
Established to further the cooperation on mutually beneficial educational initiatives on Olympic matters between the Qatar Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Academy, the MOU details a number of wide-ranging potential areas of collaboration that preserve and propagate the Olympic Spirit including shared educational programmes and international seminars.
Speaking after having signed the MOU on behalf of Qatar Olympic Academy (QOA) alongside Isidoros Kouvelos, Member of the Hellenic Olympic Movement and President of IOA, and witnessed by Ibrahim Al Jefairi, the Director of Qatar Olympic Academy (QOA), Sheikh Saoud President of the QOA said: “Qatar has taken a further important step to reach out to the international Olympic Movement and forge closer ties by serving and spreading the Olympic Values through education. It is very fitting to sign such an academic agreement that aims to safeguard and promote such universal values for the benefit of all societies at the home of movement in Ancient Olympia. Now more than ever the world needs to live by these values and instil them in its youth.
“The Olympic values established in Ancient Greece are the foundation upon which Qatar’s emergence and sporting future is built. Each day our ambitions for sport and our people are inspired by these common beliefs that unite Qatar, Greece and the wider world for the good of all. I am humbled by the desire of the International Olympic Academy to ensure the Olympic flame burns bright in the hearts of future generations and proud that Qatar will collaborate with such an important movement,” he said.
“This timing is especially significant following the recent guidance and support offered in establishing our Qatar Olympic Academy in Doha,” he said.
Kouvelos, Member of the Hellenic Olympic Movement and President of IOA said: “We are very pleased to initiate a new cooperation between the IOA and the QOC towards the dissemination of the Olympic Values. We are certain that there will be a fruitful outcome for the benefit of Olympic Education”.
The signing of the MOU continues on from existing cooperation by the two parties in the development of the Qatar Olympic Academy, which will serve the Olympic Values by bringing awareness and education to the people of Qatar and the region. The QOA just opened a new state-of-the-art facility with the distinction of offering courses in Sports Management, Coaching, as well as Olympic Values and Education in the Arabic language, amongst others—the only institution of its kind internationally.
The Peninsula
