It is often said and repeated that Olympism is sport and culture. This is not a simple definition, it is a program that is constantly developing. The cultural dynamism of the IOC and the Olympic Movement is conveyed periodically at Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies, during all events organized a this magnificent Olympic Museum which hosts our Forum today, and in the actions carried out by the Cultural Commission which has recently merged with another IOC Commission to become the new Commission for Olympic Culture and Education.
Yes, culture is the second dimension of Olympism and the IOC gives and will always give culture the importance it deserves, in accordance with its fundamental principles.
This Forum, the second we have organized, on a theme dear to our founder Pierre de Coubertin, will make us think about the IOC’s cultural policy. Given that the time to do so is limited, we will give priority to considering the future.
I thank the speakers and participants in this Forum for pursuing with us the ongoing consideration of the IOC’s cultural policy.
He Zhenliang
IOC Executive Board Member
Chairman of the Commission for Culture and Olympic Education
