In its successful 30-year history, the Albanian Olympic Academy (AOA) has become an expert in Olympic education within schools. Recently, the AOA has started collaborations with sports federations, aiming to broaden the impact of its initiatives. Enkelejda Caushi, the Director of the AOA, introduced this concept at a workshop during the EOA Congress in Vilnius 2023 and the participants engaged in discussions about its transferability to their respective national contexts.
The “Olympic Values Relay” project, conducted in partnership with the national sports federations, employs two distinct approaches. The first involves activities with individual sports federations, such as a collaboration with the Albanian Cycling Federation, which was presented during the workshop. This partnership comprised three events: The Olympic Day in October 2021 at the Afghan Refugee Camp in Durres, the Olympic Cycling Day in Tirana in October 2022, and the Olympic Summer Cup in Elbasan in March 2023. These events brought together school children, elite athletes, and cycling enthusiasts, promoting Olympic values and fostering a passion for sports.
In the second approach, activities are organised together with all federations. An example is the initiative in collaboration with the Albanian NOA, NOC, two ministries, and sports federations in October 2023, focusing on promoting sports and Olympic values in the Region of Kruja, particularly in the Thumana area after earthquake damages.
During the workshop, participants also shared their projects and activities and compared them with the models presented by the Albanian NOA. Workshop leader Eda Caushi concluded that the presented models offer valuable insights for fostering collaboration between Olympic academies and sports federations and were considered useful for other countries as well.
