As a result of collaboration between the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) and the Hungarian University of Sports Science (TF) the Olympic Values School Programme (Olympic Values Education Programme – OVEP) has been launched in Hungary. In a first round of 14 sessions, a total of 336 teachers will be trained, enabling more than 200 schools across the country with thousands of pupils to take part in the programme.
The training programme has been developed in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Paris to familiarise pupils with the Olympic values of excellence, respect, and friendship, inspiring them to become active supporters of the Olympic Movement and incorporate the values into their everyday lives.
In order to carry out various Olympic education projects, the “Olympic Values at School” programme prepares teachers in a free one-day training course (10 hours) that is funded by the MOB through the IOC’s “Olympic Solidarity” programme. The practice-oriented training gives participating teachers from different disciplines an insight into Olympic education through a variety of modern teaching methods and prepares them to implement the OVEP programme in their own schools.
Tamás Csányi, Head of the Department of Physical Education Theory and Teaching Methods at TF together with Lilla Szijj, Council member of the Hungarian Olympic Academy, are leading the project and are in charge of the implementation.
At the launch event for the programme, the representatives of both organisations agreed that the aim of the collaboration is to get more and more pupils and students in Hungary interested in the Olympic Games and involved in sport. The organisers were very satisfied with the preparations: “We have worked hard on it and the result is great material, both in terms of publication and methodology. Many teachers across the country were interested in taking part and applied, so we reached our maximum number of applications after just two days.” stated Csaba Bartha, Operational Director of MOB and Director of the Research Centre for Training Theory and Methodology at TF. Moreover, he acknowledged: “In recent years, the IOC has done a lot to reach young people and to promote the Olympic movement and the Olympic ideal. This is why sports such as climbing, skateboarding, breakdancing and BMX freestyle have been included in the Olympic programme. We need to reach the youth and one way to do this is through the Olympic Values Education Programme. I’m particularly proud that one of the Olympic qualifying series in these sports will take place in Budapest in June, where OVEP will also be represented.”
In 2008, the International Olympic Committee launched the Olympic Values Education Programme to pass on the Olympic ideal to the younger generation. This strategy was continued by Jacques Rogge, who created the Youth Olympic Games to give young athletes the opportunity to live this ideal and return to their countries as ambassadors of the Olympic idea. Since then, the IOC has set up an Education Commission to support member countries in implementing local education projects. They have developed the OVEP Curriculum Package, which forms the technical basis for the various educational projects, including festivals, Olympic Days, school projects, curriculum implementation, higher education courses or workshops. The OVEP methodology is based on the Olympic philosophy of the harmony of body, mind and spirit experiencing values through movement and activity.
Further information on the Olympic Values school programme can be found on the MOB website here and here.
