In the countdown to London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games the
world’s biggest sporting and cultural event, Lord Coe, dual Olympic
gold medallist and Chair of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games Organising Committee, will visit Dar es Salaam on Tuesday 7
February. During his visit he will discuss preparations for the London
Games with Tanzanian Olympic and sports leaders, including legendary
Tanzanian athlete and Secretary General of the Tanzania Olympic
Committee Filbert Bayi.
Lord Coe will also visit Kibasila Secondary School participating in
International Inspiration, a global sports development programme being
led in Tanzania by the British Council in Dar es Salaam. During the
visit, students at the school will display sporting activities and
routines with Lord Coe and Filbert Bayi.
London 2012’s International Inspiration programme has now reached more
than 12 million children and young people around the world. Around
79,000 teachers, coaches and young leaders have been trained to lead
sport, physical education and play in their schools and communities.
It is based on London’s vision to use the inspirational power and
reach of the Games and Olympic and Paralympic movements to connect
more young people with sport, and millions of young people have been
involved in structured education and sport-related activities
conducted in schools, villages and other community settings. There are
nine International Inspiration programmes in countries across Africa –
Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt,
South Africa, Ghana – more than any other continent.
Lord Coe said, “International Inspiration goes to the heart of the
London 2012 Games, and our determination to use the Games as a
catalyst to change lives, as we promised in our Bid. There are many
examples from the programmes of how sport, and physical activity, and
getting together to practise it, can be the way young people,
including disengaged and disadvantaged young people, can build bridges
with the communities they live in and beyond. It can be anything from
linking with others to have a common purpose and build friendships, or
boosting self-esteem from achieving modest and quiet personal bests,
or the opportunity to train and be coached and to achieve sporting
success.”
Note for Editors:
Lord Coe will be available for a media briefing on the International
Inspiration programme at Kibasila Secondary School, which will include
a display of sporting activities and routines with Seb Coe, Filbert
Bayi and students and young leaders participating in one of Tanzania’s
International Inspiration programmes.
Address: Kibasila Secondary School, near the National Sports Stadium,
off Mandela Road, Temeke Road at
Time: 0900, Tuesday 7 February.
Lord Coe will also be available for a limited number of phone
interviews with media unable to accompany him on his visits to
Tanzania and Morocco. Details will be released about how media can
register for phone interviews with Lord Coe
About International Inspiration.
London 2012’s International Inspiration programme has now reached more
than 12 million children and young people around the world. It is
based on London’s vision to use the inspirational power and reach of
the Games and Olympic and Paralympic movements to connect more young
people with sport, and millions of young people have been involved in
structured education and sport-related activities conducted in
schools, villages and other community settings. Positive outcomes
include:
-Improved sports systems in developing countries.
-Improved school attendance and educational performance – children
must be enrolled to be able to participate in sport and culture
activities.
-Empowering girls and young women to participate in sport and access education.
-The training and development of young leaders.
-Increasing self-esteem and awareness of health issues such as HIV/AIDS.
International Inspiration is also hosting sport events and
competitions in camps for young people who have been displaced from
conflict zones and reaching out to street children to help them
improve their lives.
Some of International Inspiration’s key achievements:
– 12 million children and young people have actively participated in
sport, physical education and play as a direct result of International
Inspiration – many for the first time in their lives.
– Around 79,000 teachers, coaches and young leaders have been trained
to lead sport, physical education and play in their schools and
communities, learning new skills.
– 21 policies, strategies or legislative changes have been influenced
by or implemented in response to International Inspiration.
International Inspiration has a unique approach, working on three
levels – with policy makers, sporting practitioners and young people
themselves. This is resulting in changes to the way countries are
promoting the role of sport in the school curriculum and in the
community.
Together these approaches work to create long-term, transformational
change for young people around the world through and beyond London
2012.
See also: http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/education/international-inspiration/what-is-international-inspiration/
Biographies:
Lord Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Coe is Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee for the
Olympic and Paralympic Games. Previously he led the London 2012 bid.
Lord Coe is a double Olympic Champion and 12-time world record holder
in athletics. He won gold in the 1500m and silver in the 800m at both
the Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984 Games. He retired from
competitive athletics in 1990 and became a Conservative MP and Private
Secretary to William Hague. In 2002 he was made a Peer – Lord Coe of
Ranmore. He received a knighthood in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List.
Lord Coe is also a Vice-President of the International Association of
Athletics and controlling shareholder of The Complete Leisure Group, a
non-executive director of AMT-Sybex Group, and Chair of the Sport
Honours Committee.
Filbert Bayi
Filbert Bayi is a former Tanzanian middle-distance runner who set the
world records for 1500m in 1974 and the mile in 1975. He is still the
1500 m Commonwealth Games record holder.
Bayi won the gold medal in the 1500m at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in
Christchurch, New Zealand, breaking the world record in the process.
He later won a silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the 1980
Olympic Games in Moscow. Other titles included the 1500m gold medals
at the 1973 and 1978 All-Africa Games.
Since retiring from competition he has set up the Filbert Bayi
Foundation which aims to guide young sporting talent in Tanzania as
well as providing a broader education. Bayi has also opened schools in
Kimara, as well as a secondary school in Kibaha.