According to the International Olympic Committee* the three core Values of Olympism are Excellence, Friendship and Respect. They constitute the foundation on which the Olympic Movement builds its activities to promote sport, culture and education with a view to building a better world.
The original values of Olympism as expressed in the Olympic Charter were to “encourage effort”, “preserve human dignity” and “develop harmony”.
Over time, they have evolved and are now expressed in more contemporary terms as:
- Striving for excellence and encouraging people to be the best they can be.
- Celebrating friendship, which is quite unique to the Olympic Games – an event that brings people together every few years.
- Demonstrating respect in many different manners: respect towards yourself, the rules, your opponents, the environment, the public, etc.
This is the idea of setting your rivalries aside. There is more that unites us than divides us.
Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.
The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
*The Fundamentals of Olympic Values Education, International Olympic Committee.
The World Olympic Summer School aims to raise awareness relating to the Olympic Values and to prepare the next generation of the Olympic Values Ambassadors. Students participating in the program will receive a participation certificate
