Olympism

Olympism refers to the philosophy of the Olympic games. The fundamental principles of Olympism are outlined in the Olympic Charter.

From a pro-Olympism viewpoint, Olympism seeks to create a way of life by blending sport with culture, education and international cooperation. Ideally, it is based on the joy of effort, the educational value of a good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. The main goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the development of humankind, with a view to promoting a society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.

According to the principles of Olympism, the practice of sport is a principal human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without any discrimination kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

The principle of non-discrimination is a core point of Olympism. Olympism says that the enjoyment of rights and freedoms to practice sport should take place without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or another opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or another status.

Olympists are adherents or advocates of Olympism who commonly refer to their work as “building better humans.”

Critics of Olympism describe it as an unrealistic ideal and point to failures of the games to promote its objectives.

Olympism in Action

Six activities are currently included within Olympism in Action. Activities include Development through Sport, Education through Sport, Peace through Sport, Sport and the Environment, Sport for All, and Women and Sport. These activities are endorsed by the Olympic Movement.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) supports Development through Sport by working with the United Nations (UN) and other governmental agencies to help people perceive, gain, and understand the world around them through athletics. For Education through Sport, the IOC created the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) to teach its participants about the advantages of being physically active and playing sports. IOC President Thomas Bach has shown his support for Peace through Sport by stating "The Olympic athletes show the whole world that it is possible to compete with each other while living peacefully together. In this world of uncertainty that we are living in today, the Olympic Games are even more relevant than ever.”

To support its idea for Sport and the Environment, the IOC is a principal support partner for the Sustainable Sport and Events (SSE) Toolkit created by the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology (AISTS). The toolkit focuses on how National Olympic Committees should go about choosing a city or cities to host, as well as construction for the venue, transportation, and accommodation for athletes and visitors. The IOC works towards Sport for All to offer access to sports to everyone, no matter their gender, race, or social class. Women in Sport is the IOC’s way to continue to support and improve gender equality. They do this by creating “leadership development, advocacy and awareness campaigns” and putting more women in leadership roles in the Committee.

However, the principle of non-discrimination is not always followed by IOC: during 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis IOC EB recommends no participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, urges International Sports Federations and organizers of sports events worldwide to do everything in their power to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus.

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Olympic culture