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Youth Olympic Games: From Vision to Success

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-25T15:24:04-06:00June 30th, 2011|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Management|

### Introduction

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. When Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games in 1894, he sought to do more than just create a modern sporting competition. He founded the Olympic Movement as an education movement, believing that sport would contribute to the harmonious and well-balanced development of the body, mind and character, and helped create a more peaceful and better world. It is the convergence of sport, culture and education that defines the concept of Olympism and the modern Olympic Movement. It is therefore my pleasure and privilege to share with you the Youth Olympic Games, a new creation that truly epitomize the spirit of the modern Olympic Movement.

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is the brainchild of Dr. Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The vision and the concept of the YOG were deliberated in great length by the IOC Executive Board and the IOC members. The 119th IOC Session held in Guatemala in 2007 unanimously approved the creation of the YOG.

### Vision

It is the vision of the IOC that the YOG will inspire the youths of the world to take part in sports and adopt and live the Olympic Values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.

IOC President Jacque Rogge envisaged that the YOG, and I quote, “…is the flagship of the IOC’s determination to reach out to young people. These games will not only be about competition. They will also be the platform through which youngsters will learn about the Olympic values and the benefits of sport, and will share their experiences with other communities around the globe.”

### The Concept

The concept of the YOG called for the participation of the world’s top young athletes in a Games with equal emphasis on sports, culture and education. For the Summer Youth Olympic Games, 3,600 athletes would compete in 26 Olympic sports, stay together for a full 12 days and take part in culture and education programs created especially for them. The host city would make use of existing sports facilities and accommodation. The standard and service level would be different from that of the standard Olympic Games.

### The Inaugural Games

The Inaugural Games attracted a lot of interests from around the world. On Sept. 3, 2007, the IOC announced that 11 cities (1), including Singapore, had indicated their intention to bid for the first YOG.

In November 2007, after the preliminary evaluation of the IOC, the competition was narrowed down to five cities—Singapore, Turin, Moscow, Bangkok and Athens—from nine cities. In January 2008, this was further reduced to Singapore and Moscow, following a video conference between the cities and the IOC Evaluation Commission.

On February 21, 2008, the IOC President declared Singapore as the winning city to host the inaugural YOG in 2010. Singapore beat Moscow by 53 to 44 votes.

### Co-constructing the Inaugural Games

Singapore had just about two and half years to organize the Inaugural Games. The Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (SYOGOC) had worked hand in glove with the IOC, the 26 International Sports Federations, 205 National Olympic Committees and different stakeholders to co-construct this very first Games. In particular, it was a special challenge in designing the Culture and Education program, which was the defining element of this Games.

SYOGOC’s mission was to create an inspiring and memorable experience for all participants, while establishing an enduring legacy for Singapore and the Olympic movement.

In the two and a half years leading up to the YOG, and during the YOG, Singapore implemented a series of programs (2) with integrated sports and educational and cultural elements to connect the young people with the Olympic values and one another. SYOGOC saw this engagement important before, during and after the Games.

YOG participants experienced Singapore 2010’s programs in four ways:

1. Learning through workshops, forums, events and taking part in various projects;
2. Contributing to causes and communities to appreciate how the Olympic values can help improve the lives of others;
3. Interacting through competition that is friendly and mutually respectful, living in the Youth Olympic Village, encountering new cultures, sports and communities and making new friends; and
4. Celebrating together the diversity of the Olympic Movement, in which many cultures are united through their common adherence to the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.

### Olympic Education

As an important legacy of the YOG, the Ministry of Education in Singapore and the Singapore Olympic Academy produced and launched the Olympic Education Resource Package in December 2008 for all the schools in Singapore. Henceforth, Olympic education became entrenched in Singapore’s education system.

### Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame

For this very first Games, the IOC Executive Board had given approval for the Flame of the YOG to travel across the five continents, stopping at one continent where athletes and young people of the continent will gather for a celebration and herald the arrival of the Youth Olympic Games. To me, it was an important proposal of SYOGOC to promote YOG and the Games in Singapore. Hundreds of thousands of the youth and people around the world participated in the Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame and there were many magical moments.

### Sizzling Performances During the Games

Through the 12 days of the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, from Aug. 14-26, 2010, we witnessed sizzling sports performances from the young athletes, not only in their events, but also in mixed team events comprising boys and girls of mixed nationalities within the teams. The bold call for the Games to go beyond sports did not in any way dilute the quality of the sporting competition. In fact, in some instances the Games have brought to the fore some of the world’s biggest young stars, many of whom are expected to achieve even greater marks in sport in the future. Despite the competition, the athletes embraced the Olympic ideals of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. As an athlete from Trinidad put it, and I quote, “at the starting line everyone wished each other good luck, it was like one big family.”

The sport competition also taught the athletes valuable lessons, which they will remember for life, as an athlete from Gabon, Jessica Oyane, said: “Through this competition, I have seen my weaknesses and what I need to improve. I will work harder to show the people of Gabon that I am doing my best, and make them proud.”

### Culture and Education Program

For the first time in Olympic history, all athletes remained for the entire period of the Games where an extensive range of activities were organized for them to live together, and learn and understand one another through the Culture and Education Program (CEP). The CEP focused on 5 key themes of Olympism, Skills Development, Well-Being and Healthy Lifestyle, Social Responsibility and Expression. Singapore 2010 produced the world’s first batch of Young Olympians influenced with the belief that sport is not just about winning, but being a champion in life.

As Dr Jacque Rogge, IOC President put it, and I quote, “You will learn the difference between winning and being a champion. To win, you merely have to cross the finish line first. To be a champion, you have to inspire admiration for your character, as well as for your physical talent.”

### Making History

The IOC President has said that the Inaugural YOG was a huge success and beyond his highest expectations. The Young Olympians, the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations were all extremely happy and satisfied with the Games. Young people from around the world were actively involved in making the Games a great success whether working in the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee, as Chef De Mission, as coaches or team officials, as contributors to the Culture and Education, or as Young Ambassadors or simply as spectators. There were many innovations and new ideas in sports, such as the 3-on-3 basketball, mixed and continental teams that went beyond sport competitions to promote Olympic Values and understanding. The Young Olympians competed head-on against one another in their sport and came together as teammates and friends in the CEP, discussing issues critical to them, such as the fight against doping, health and the environment.

These are the significant successes for sport, the Organizing Committee and the IOC.

This is just the beginning. This YOG will be an inspiration for generations to come. Connected through sports and by bonds of friendship, these young people will help to build a more peaceful and harmonious world. We are all part of this legacy, by living the Olympic values in our lives.

Please watch a three-minute music video with highlights of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, titled [“A New Story,”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGn-HBRt0Yo) on YouTube.

### References

1. The 10 other cities were Algiers (Algeria), Athens (Greece), Bangkok (Thailand), Belgrade (Serbia), Debrecen (Hungary), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Kulau Lumper (Malaysia), Moscow (Russian Federation), Poznan (Poland) and Turin (Italy).
2. These programs fall within five groups: Pre-Games Engagement Program (involving twinning of all Singapore schools to some 200 National Olympic Committees), Sports Program (featuring all 26 Summer Olympic sports), Culture and Education Program (special modules designed for the young athletes in the areas of Sports Issues, Global Issues, World Culture, Community Involvement, Adventure); Youth Olympic Village (with lively exhibition and performance spaces for the young athletes); New Media (wide use of new media platforms to promote connectivity among the youth of the world before, during and after the YOG.

Teaching the Olympic Values within the Educational System

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-25T15:22:10-06:00June 30th, 2011|Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|

### Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of National Olympic Academies, dear Professor Kostas Georgiadis and my friends, I am deeply moved as I stand today on the rostrum in order to talk to you about a special Olympic education experience. I sincerely wish to thank the International Olympic Academy and, in particular, Professor Kostas Georgiadis for this invitation.

The objective of this lecture is to present to you a case study from France, within a special administrative framework and environment. Teaching Olympic values in the educational system means that you need to be aware of the system’s strengths, as well as its limitations. Despite France’s seemingly privileged situation as the birthplace of Pierre de Coubertin, it appears that the connection to Olympism and its values is very particular in our educational system. At the core of our educational system, therefore, when dealing with values that are closely related to those of the Republic, the pillar of French society, you need to develop a whole strategy in order to teach the Olympic ideals to French youth.

In fact, the French Olympic Committee has been developing for many years now an educational program that focuses on the Olympic Games and Olympism, which cannot, however, become fully integrated in the school curriculum.

So, the question that arises today is why, since about one year now, the French Minister who is responsible for Education wishes to build a program around the Olympic values? A number of answers, at different levels could be given:

a. An important and inescapable triggering factor was the city of Annecy’s bid for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2018. Unquestionably, this candidature that was presented at the highest national level, meant that different actors met, discussed and finalized an original educational project.
b. The choice of putting “a pilot in the plane.” Over and above the candidature, there was the issue of the project’s sustainability. So, who should be the interlocutor, the coordinator to be chosen among the various stakeholders (the Bidding Committee Annecy 2018, the French National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Education)? The National School Sports Union (UNSS) that I represent today was entrusted with the coordination and development of the activities and you will see later why.
c. Original initiatives aimed at all French students, from earlier on until university, from the local to the international level.

As a result, I will be talking to you about all the problems related to a particular system and ambitious projects. I shall divide my presentation into four big areas. In the first, I will briefly present the French educational model and UNSS’ original position between the French administration (State) and Sport.

The second part will cover the general concept of the UNSS’ program, its concrete implementation, tools and educational projects.

The third will deal with the international aspects and strategies for reaching out to the French school students abroad (French schools abroad).

Finally, I will talk about the evaluation of the teaching Olympic values program.

### A Special Kind of Administration Between Sport and School

In order to help you understand the particularities of the French model, I will focus for a few moments on the administrative structure that manages educational issues. To reach French youth, you need to take into acccount an important element, the school. The vast majority of young people, 6-to-18 years old, attend school. Most of them—15 million—go to public schools. Therefore it seems quite logical that if you want to succeed in your teaching of Olympic values, the school is the primary institution on which you should rely.

Even though identifying the target is a rather easy task, reaching that same target is a rather complex matter. Indeed, the administration of the French scool system that dates back to 150 years ago, is governed by the republican principle of equal opportunities. As a result, this leads to a formalization of teaching programs at national level and to a recruitment process at national and very high academic level (master degree) for teachers. A civil service examination completes this complex procedure for the educator, also at a very high level—even for physical education and sports teachers.

Although, in the last 10 years, local management of school establishments has become a reality, centralized developmeent of the curricula and teaching material remains an important aspect of public policies in the field of education.

It is therefore difficult to imagine direct access through the curricula or the teachers’ initial training.

On the other hand, we have developed our program, building on sports practice, a special period of the student’s school life. Using this privileged opportunity of school sport, we can develop a reference framework linked to the Olympic values.

I should make it clear that school sport also has its own particularities. You will therefore easily understand why the UNSS is the main actor regarding all issues related to the teaching of Olympic values.

A student who attends lower or upper secondary school has two opportinities to practice sports: 1) during physical education classes; or 2) by joining the school’s sports association. This is the activity that is managed by UNSS. It involves organizing more than 100 sports every year, 200 national and local directors, 9,500 sports associations, 35,000 trainers who are all physical education teachers (civil servants) for a total of 1 million students under the same sports license.

Another important point is that every sport association is chaired by the head of the school and the UNSS by the Minister of Education, who also directly appoints the Directors.

On the following graph you will see that the UNSS’ administration is directly related to the administration of Education and Sports (ministry or sports movement). We are therefore in a special position that allows us to develop our own programs that simply have to follow the Minister’s guidelines and we do not have to go through the same barriers as the school curricula.

As a result, the Minister of Education has entrusted the UNSS with the coordination of educational activities that are linked to the promotion of Olympic values. More important, he has stated, through the UNSS, that the school wished to develop a comprehensive project around the ideals of the Olympic Games.

Between the School and Sport, I shall now present the strategy that allows us to efectively teach the Olympic values to school children 6-to-18 years old.

### The Olympic Values: From the Classroom to the Sports Fields, A Local and National Vision

This second part will focus on our program for teaching Olympic values. Which was the concept around which we are developing all our educational curricula? The UNSS, which is determined to develop an original educational program, obviously wishes to follow a sustainable approach in promoting the Olympic values. Its purpose is to revive the Olympic spirit and share the values it carries. In this sense, we wish to go beyond “incantations” and allow French youth to build Olympism in action.

What is “Olympism in action?” How did we develop a special methodology around this central concept? What were the requirements regarding the tools and implementation? These are the questions I shall try to answer.

It is always very difficult to formalize a very precise definition when dealing with a concept as global as Olympism. Nevertheless, this concept of “Olympism in action” refers directly to the students’ experience. To live the values of Olympism by different means contributes to a rather effective integration of these values. Sport and values thus become part of the individual’s general education. In this sense, since it is important to formalize a program in order to allow each teacher to draw from it the important elements to be included in the learning process, our methodology focused on the development of multidisciplinary educational projects that really require the student to act.

You understand that this allowed us to circumvent the difficult issue of school curricula. Indeed, every teacher, in the context of his discipline, as well as every institution is given the possibility to develop projects outside their class teaching in order to create openings in apprentice-training. To allow teachers to take such initiatives and before I present the most significant projects to you, I must tell you that a guide on the developoment of these projects is absolutely essential. In other words, we must give them the means to propose a new pedagogical approach by using Olympic values as a vehicle for education.

### The Educational Book, “Education and Olympism,” From One Pole to the Other

We had the idea of creating an educational tool that would allow us, through an interdisciplinary approach, to suggest a thought process to teachers. This book that was written and published by the Ministry of National Education, or to be specific by the Grenoble Academy (the Minister’s regional services) is aimed directly at teachers. Alongside IOC member Jean-Claude Killy, the Rector of the Grenoble Academy prefaced the book. This means that there is a clear link between the IOC’s expectations and the action at local, national and international level of the Education Ministry. This book was published in a hard copy version but what is important is that it can be downloaded free of charge. Here is the address: <http://www.federation-unss.org>.

From nursery school to higher education, the purpose is to highlight the numerous educational projects in this restricted area (a region), publicize them and make them known to other educational teams. In other words, to allow the exchange of best practices arising from local experiences and initiatives in order to extend them to all teaching teams. The involvement of school principals and teachers allowed a coherent multidisciplinary approach.

What are the book’s contents? Approximately 20 thematic data sheets designed by and for teachers. They contain a lot of illustrations thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education.

On the basis of the curricula of primary, lower and upper secondary schools, each data sheet focuses on a specific aspect of the programs. Their content remains open-ended in order to mobilize teachers as much as possible. It’s like a kind of “databank” if you will, a rather large documentary material that will allow teachers to initiate a great variety of pedagogical projects together with the students, depending on their choices, in order to raise their students’ awareness of Olympic values. I shall not go into the details. I am officially handing over this book to Professor Georgiadis and to the documentation center of the International Olympic Academy. You can either download it or consult it here.

In addition to the hard copy version, an audiovisual support has also been created consisting of films, historic pictures and animated films connected to the Olympic Games.

### The Most Important Local Projects

As the outcome of this book, here are a few original projects that I would like to present to you:

* The meeting of students with champions. 2,500 students welcomed in their classroom Olympic medalists in 2010. The athletes shared their experience and showed them their sports path. Before the visit, students worked on the champion’s discipline, the Olympic Games where he obtained his medal and prepared, down to the smallest detail, this meeting which clearly was the culmination of their work. After that, 1,500 young people went to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne in order to continue their work of discovering the champion.

* For the younger students, Olympic Youth Camps continue to be organized. This activity launched in 2006 and led by the Olympic committee that was originally intended for primary schools has gained a central role in the long term development of a comprehensive program on Olympism. Based on the principle of «mini-Olympics», several local classes are given the opportunity to build an interdisciplinary program based on sport (the practice of sports, as well as its history, physical sciences. The end-result is the staging of these games, with all the symbolic elements of the real Olympic Games (flame, opening ceremony, sports challenge, performance measurement, historic exhibition). The Olympic Youth Camps were held in March of this year in the mountain area of Carreaux d’Arraches (Haute Savoie).

* Promotion of existing events. Each year, the UNSS organizes more than 100 different sports. Our regional and departmental directors are invited to highlight sports meets using cross-cutting themes such as sports and disabled students or sports and sustainable development.

* Opening to new communication media. Through the introduction of new communication modes, the challenge is to create a social network around the Olympic Games. Called OLYNK, this network will allow young people to connect around Olympism using their communication mode and providing them with the diversity, the directness and the interactivity they expect from modern media.

### The Agreement Between the French NOC and the Ministry of Education: National Cooperation Framework

Beyond the massive distribution of the educational book throughout France, the question of its promotion at national level needs to be considered. Indeed, if we are looking for original educational projects that will contribute to the development of Olympism in action and if we wish to give regions sufficient freedom of movement for focusing essentially on local issues, the fact remains that a national framework needs to be set up in order to convey a clear message to all the parties involved.

On May 25, 2010, for the first time in the history of the French Olympic Movement and the Ministry of Education, a framework agreement was signed between the President of the French NOC and the Minister of education. Concluded for a three-year period, this agreement states in its article 1: Through this agreement, the parties shall seek to attain the following objectives: _…promote the educational and social values conveyed by sport and Olympism._ Article 2 further provides: _To this end, the parties undertake to cooperate in order (to encourage) the promotion of behaviors and values that reflect the Olympic spirit (and) contribute to the acquisition of knowledge and behavioral skills that enhance the values of Olympism._

I believe that the contents of this agreement clearly state the objectives to be attained.

Several concrete actions, directly related to this agreement were implemented, in less than a year, in many areas:

* Training young people to take on responsibilities. The UNSS has created a program called “Towards a responsible generation.” In cooperation with the French Olympic Committee, we train young people for the role of vice-president of school sport associations. At the side of the headmasters of the schools who are by right the presidents of the sport association, these students  are directly involved in the governance of the association, the choices to be made regarding sports practice, projects, future development. A national commission, composed of about twenty young members, has just been created in order to lead this program.

* Agreements have been signed between certain sport federations and the Ministry of Education. This was the case, in particular, for rowing, tennis, badminton and wrestling, which have placed their know-how and their values at the service of the school. The UNSS was an important actor in this closer relationship between sport federations and the Ministry of Education.

* The creation of an Agenda 21 for school sport in connection with the challenges of sustainable development. The “classical” Agenda 21 was presented to the school world thanks to the support of the Olympic Commitee and of the Sports Ministry.

* The presence of a member of the Olympic Committee on the UNSS’ Scientific Committee who is responsible for evaluating implemented policies. I will come back to this point in the last part of my presentation on the evaluation of the educational program.

We have looked at the methodology, the agreements and concrete projects. The signing of the agreement between the French National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Education was a real driver for us. For history’s sake, I want to underline that the UNSS’ role was pivotal in finalizing this agreement. However, Olympism in action cannot forget that a large portion of French youth lives outside the territory of France. This is why it is important to adapt the program to other countries and I will talk about that in the third part of my presentation.

### French Youth Abroad: A Priority for Our Education

In addition to local and national actions, one of our priorities is to extend this educational program to the French youth that attends school abroad. More precisely, this will allow us to promote our vision in the context of the education provided by French schools abroad, which also welcome native students of the countries.

A memorandum of understanding will be signed in the very near future between the UNSS and the Agency for French education abroad (AEFE), which is a public institution of the Foreign Ministry, for the distribution of the educational book I have presented to you. Moreover, several presentations of the book have and will be organized until the end of the year 2011 in order to mobilize the students of this network to our teaching of Olympic values.

Our international vision aims at two major directions:

* The first is to establish an international link between AEFE’s world zones and the UNSS coordinators. To put it simply, the administration of French schools abrod is divided in 16 zones around the world. Opposite these zones, we have identified 16 territories in Metropolitan France in order to animate the network at local level and so each French zone is in direct contact with its reference world zone.

What are the offers betwen the UNSS and AEFE zones?

There are three types of offer: 1) A sports practice offer, i.e. French schools abroad will be allowed to take part in the sports competitions of French schools. 2) A training offer aimed at teachers and school principals who are sometimes very far away from France. In this way we can offer expertise and generate dynamism and connections around the Olympic values. 3) A communication offer, because sport often is an important argument that determines the quality of an institution’s teaching.
* At another level, faithful to our project strategy aimed at teaching youth to live the Olympic values, we have ceated a special event, always within the framework of the MOU beween the UNSS and the AEFE, that brings together these young people and part of the students living in France. We have called it the “International Youth Games.” You understand that, on a smaller scale, these Games are directly inspired by the Youth Olympic Games. They combine sporting and cultural challenge and are open to young people 15-to-16 years old. We have chosen this age group because at this level there are no important exams at the end of the year. These International Youth Games will be held for the first time on May 25-29, 2011 in Arcachon, near the city of Bordeaux (South-West France). For this first edition we expect 400 students from the whole world [comments on the countries table].

What will these International Youth Games be like?

The week is organized in two major types of activities.

First, sports activities which we shall evaluate on the basis of Olympism. Since it is difficult to judge beforehand what will be the level of students coming from al over the world and to create a festive atmosphere that is clearly desired, the events will be held on sand. For this first edition of the Games, collective sports will be on the program. To allow teams to meet, the mini-championships will be organized at the beginning of the Games to encourage contacts. Beach handball, beach volley, beach football and beach rugby will be top of the list. After that, another period will be devoted to the presentation of the Olympic symbols. A relay race with the participation of all schools will be an opportunity to become acquainted with the itinerary of the Olympic flame during the Games. Finally, to make their stay even more pleasant, students will discover the local sports (surfing, sport rescue, as Arcachon is situated on the Atlantic coast).

Secondly, a cultural part with three activities:

* Country evenings. Each school will bring an object, food or a poster and present it to the others. In a small stand, delegations will taste the products of the region that hosts the International Youth Games. This country evening will be staged on the day of participants’ arrival who will thus have an opportunity to meet.
* Conference-debate on Olympism and international exchanges. All participants will gather in one large hall where they can interact with great French athletes, specialists of Olympism and ecology.
* Visit to the major sites of the region (tour to the aquaculture area by boat, climb of the Pyla dune and folk dances).

These Games, which represent today a very important contribution to the teaching of Olympic values within our complex system, aim to become a permanent institution. Next year, they will be staged in Nice, marking the starting point for the educational program of the Games of the Francophonie (French-speaking countries) in 2013. Following that, we shall be holding these games every two years to allow more remote schools to meet travel costs.

Regarding the prospects of the International Youth Games, we shall follow three directions:

* Extend the sports practice offer. Although team beach sports are more joyful competitions, it is true that they do not reflect the whole the essence of sport. For the next edition we shall be proposing individual activities like mini tennis for example.
* We want to enhance sports practice for girls and their commitment. For this purpose, both for the sports part and cultural activities, we shall propose special workshops focusing, in particular, on empowerment in school sports associations.
* Finally, we are aiming at establishing a link between the geographical distribution of AEFE and UNSS members. In this way, opposite to each «world zone», one or more departmental or regional directors of the UNSS will be responsible for animating, in cooperation with their AEFE counterpart, a network of cooperation and partnership. We hope in this way to be able to increase the diversity of countries attending the International Youth Games.

From the local to the international level, from the classroom to the sports field, this is our vision of an Olympism in action through the students’ life experiences.

### Evaluation of the Program

The setting up of such a complex and extensive progam as the one I have just presented to you requires an in-depth consideration of the system’s evaluation. Without going into technical details, three major evaluation modules have been implemented and they will give us their first results during 2012.

The qualitative aspect is, to a large extent, the outcome of dynamic statistical tools. Teachers feed data directly to a database throughout the year. This allows us to know how many students have been involved, the type of actions that are implemented and identify the areas that are most prominent. Combined with the cross-cutting thematic areas (sport and girls, sport and sustainable development, sport and international…), this allows us to consider a more qualitative approach to the program’s evaluation.

However, to achieve a good qualitative evaluation, we have created an independent scientific committee that monitors from outside the implementation of our policies. It is composed of 6 people who represent, in the best possible way, all he stakeholders of French school sport. In this way, academics, high level sports officials and local elected representatives are able to issue calls for projects aimed at universities, in particular. This allows us to set up high level teams that will be focusing for one year or more on the evaluation of an aspect of the teaching program seen as a priority.

Finally, the last evaluation tool for dealing, specifically, with the complex issues of French schools abroad, is the setting up of a mixed group of UNSS and AEFE people which, on the model of the scientific committee, shall evaluate in detail the activities of the world zones.

### Conclusion

In conclusion, a few important points need to be noted as they could help in the transposition of this French program on the teaching of Olympic values at school:

* Find and use an important triggering factor. In our case, we shouldn’t deny it, the candidature of Annecy 2018 is a great opportunity to convince people.
* Find and formalize a concept. In our case, taking into account the specificities of the French model, we have clearly opted for capitalizing on experience. Educational projects that involve students from the local to the international level allow me to defend this concept of Olympism in action.
* Take into account the increased diversity of the target audience. It is true that we remained focused mainly on school youths. This choice was dictated by our status as a sports Federation of National Education and the number of young people we want to reach. However, the inclusion of French schools abroad had never been attempted, until then, by any program for the teaching of Olympic values.
* Develop a sustainable program that will continue for many years. In this way, integration at local level (teachers, departmental and regional directors) will allow a broad variety of initiatives and ongoing activities.

Finally, the few reactions we received from the IOC clearly indicated that we had responded to most of their expectations. Regarding this last point, you understand of course that UNSS is ready to assist Olympic Academies, National Olympic Committees and the countries to develop programs for teaching Olympic values in a system as complex as the French system.

Interdisciplinary Approach of the Teaching of Olympic Principles to the Students

U.S. Sports Academy2015-10-02T23:25:55-05:00June 30th, 2011|Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management|

### Introduction

Illustrious Celebrities on the dias, in the august gathering, ladies and gentlemen committed to the noble Olympic movement, Greetings from India. I am Dr. A.M. Najeeb, a physical education professor in one of the leading Technological universities owned by the government of India, the National Institute of Technology Calicut and one of the few Olympic educators of India. I am thrilled and honoured to be delivering a humble lecture titled, “Interdisciplinary Approach of the Teaching of Olympic Principles to the Students,” and acting as the ambassador of my country and my institution at the International Olympic Academy.

My lecture would consist of discussion on the universally approved interdisciplinary strategies and some corresponding experiences while teaching Olympic values and principles to the engineering students of my institution. I was initiated in to the Olympic Values Education Programme by the Indian National Olympic Committee during March 2010, where at the seminar I promised Mr. Tommy Sithole, the IOC Director for International Development and Cooperation, that I would spread the Olympic message among students. Since then from July 2010 to this day I have successfully inculcated in 1000 students the values and principles of olympism. As my students are from the engineering stream, interdisciplinary strategy was applied for effective transfer of knowledge.

“Teaching Values – An Olympic Education Toolkit” by Dr. Deanna L. Binder, of the University of Alberta, Canada, was the main reference book that I used for teaching Olympic values to my students. I am deeply indebted to Madam Binder and her excellent teaching techniques at New Delhi for having motivated people like me to take up Olympic values education to develop our students in to meaningful citizen. Madam Binder has said **“in a world where obesity is a major concern, and where children in deprived communities need hope and a sense of achievement, physical activity and sport have an important role to play.”**

Since its launching in April 2008, the Toolkit has brought about tremendous awakening among the youth. Let us now take a peek at the universally approved interdisciplinary strategies.

### What is the Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching and Learning?

It requires planning that looks at the foundational objectives of a number of curriculum areas connecting them in an efficient way to help teachers (Jacobs) to teach the whole student and make links between disciplines. In short, it is a Strategy adopted by teachers for effective transfer of knowledge.

Purpose of the interdisciplinary strategy:

1. To dissolve the boundaries of areas of study and encourage learning across the curriculum.
2. To develop a plan integration of the natural areas to form thematic units.
3. To include a well-rounded education where critical thinking and transfer of knowledge is possible.
4. To enhance the student’s education and encourage lifelong learning.

Planning and teaching an interdisciplinary unit:

1. Choose a basic effective topic-concept.
2. Brainstorm for ideas that can be organized onto an interdisciplinary concept model. This model has the theme in the centre as nucleus and the subject areas are explored in relation to the theme.
3. Guiding questions that are general, transcend boundaries of disciplines and generate higher-level thought processes.

Activity plans used to develop activities:

Unit: Principle of Fair Play on playfields: Do students come to the play facilities?
– **Knowledge:** Identify the students on the respective playfields.
– **Comprehension:** Observe students’ behaviour on the fields.
– **Application:** Chart the visitors to the various playfields.
– **Analysis:** Compare the students’ behaviour on the various fields.
– **Synthesis:** Provide a Teacher/ coach/ Instructor on each field.
– **Evaluation:** Appraise its effect.

The above example of interdisciplinary activity shows the target group of professional students and the dependent variable of ethics (Olympic principle or value). The subject areas are science, language, psychology & ethics.

Salient features of the strategy:

1. **Adaptability by the teacher.** Individualizing instructions- Students’ choice of themes- Teachers’ choice of activities across academic levels.
2. **Assessment & Evaluation Considerations.** Level of performance criteria indifferent subject areas – Completion of various activities to interpret the students’ progress.

Let me also mention some of the other key strategies:

1. **Direct Instruction Strategy:** A highly teacher-directed and most commonly used strategy, effective for providing information or developing step-by-step skills. It also aids in introducing other teaching methods, or actively involving students in knowledge construction. Methodology involve: Structured Overview; Lecture; Explicit Teaching; Drill & Practice; Compare & Contrast and Demonstrations.
2. **Indirect Instruction Strategy:** In contrast, indirect instruction is mainly student-centered, although the two strategies complement each other. It calls for a high level of student involvement in observing, investigating, drawing inferences from data, or forming hypotheses. It takes advantage of students’ interest and curiosity, often encouraging them to generate alternatives or solve problems. The role of the teacher shifts from lecturer/director to that of facilitator, supporter, and resource person. The teacher provides the learning environment, opportunity for student involvement, and, when appropriate, provides feedback to students while they conduct the inquiry. One of the better methods to extract student-interest.
3. **Experiential Learning Strategy:** It is inductive, learner centered, and activity oriented. Personalized reflection about an experience and the formulation of plans to apply learning to other contexts are critical factors in effective experiential learning. The emphasis in experiential learning is on the process of learning and not on the product. Methodology cycle involve Experiencing (an activity occurs); Sharing or publishing (reactions and observations are shared); Analyzing or processing (patterns and dynamics are determined); Inferring or generalizing (principles are derived); and Applying (plans are made to use learning in new situations).
4. **Interactive Instruction Strategy:** It allows heavy discussion and sharing among participants leading to rational arguments. The interactive instruction strategy allows for a range of groupings and interactive methods. It is important for the teacher to outline the topic, the amount of discussion time, the composition and size of the groups, and reporting or sharing techniques. Interactive instruction requires the refinement of observation, listening, interpersonal, and intervention skills and abilities by both teacher and students. It is heavily dependent upon the expertise of the teacher and dynamics of the group.
5. **Instructional Skills Strategy:** It is most specific category of teaching behaviours. They are necessary for procedural purposes and for structuring appropriate learning experiences for students.

### Teaching Olympic Values to the Indian University Student

University education in India is reined by the Governments through rules, regulations and guidelines. In a highly populated country like India, the number of degree seekers flocking the universities is so high that the desired quality control is difficult to achieve. While the prerogative is to develop ideal citizens through university education, the infrastructure is lacking. There are universities without even a proper playground for its students, let alone the faculty to look after the students’ welfare, fitness and wellness. However, those responsible for their own curricula do include sports, physical education and their values in the respective curricula.

My institute, the National Institute of Technology Calicut pioneered in this line by introducing compulsory Physical Education curriculum for its undergraduate students with a one-credit course to support it. Olympic Values Education is one of the courses offered to the students.

### Physical Education, Sports and Olympic Values

“Our world is in need of peace, tolerance and brotherhood. By blending Sport with culture and education, the Olympic values can deliver these to us.” – Jacques Rogge, IOC President

Sport is not just a competition; but a state of mind. The Olympic movement considers it a challenge to educate the youth of the world and encourage them to practice sports. Sports help one to escape concerns, respect one another and learn to respect and abide by rules. Sports also aid in shaping the mind with the body and bringing with it joy, hope, pride, sense of identity and health. It is therefore the objective of the IOC to strive to encourage and promote life values & skills through Olympic Values Education Programme.

The President reasserts that Olympic movement of tomorrow is in the hands of the young people of today. If they learn to respect one another on the sports field, they will transfer this virtue to other elements of their daily lives. Peace, harmony and brotherhood will then naturally descend on the earth. The fact that IOC looks up to physical education teachers of the world to spread the Olympic message is heartening and a major recognition to the profession. The International Olympic Academy leaves no stone unturned in pursuing and making this a reality with exclusive sessions being arranged for physical educators of the world to prepare them for the specific task.

### Learning is a Multifaceted Activity

Learning is an active and not a passive activity. It involves writing, discussion, debates and creative activities like sports participation. Some learn best reading, some write and others achieve it listening or in creating things. Olympic Values Education Programme or OVEP uses multifaceted processes to educate students. Even though some learn well individually, OVEP mostly believes in collective thinking and doing to pass on knowledge. Interdisciplinary strategy is one of the effective methods for teaching Olympic values and principles.

### Values, Heritage, Sport and Culture

A Value or Principle is what is considered important in life; making it worth living. It helps people decide what is right or wrong in moral terms. Heritage is a form of legacy, tangible and intangible. Tangibles are monuments or works of art while intangibles are languages, films, music crafts, culture including Sport movements and techniques. Sport is defined by UNESCO (2004) as forms of physical activity like play and indigenous sport that contribute to physical fitness, mental wellbeing and social interaction. Culture is everything that allows people to situate themselves in relation to the world, society and also the heritage passed on to them.

### Fundamentals and Goals of the Olympic Movement

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. It aims at creating a way of life based on the joy of effort and educational values. Its goal is to place sport at the service towards harmonious development of man with a view to promote a peaceful society concerned with preservation of human dignity. The Olympic movement is the concerted, organised and permanent action carried out under the supreme authority of the IOC and all entities inspired by the values of olympism. The practice of sport is a human right and every individual must have the possibility of practicing the sport without any discrimination. Every sport should be organised and administered by independent sports organisations. There shall be no discrimination in sport based on race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise. Belonging to the Olympic movement will require compliance with the Olympic charter and recognition by the IOC. Therefore it is necessary to teach the Olympic message to young students who will control the future world and ensure sports participation without bias or discrimination.

### Educational Values/Principles of Olympism

There are five educational values/ principles recognised in Olympism. They have been extracted from the fundamental principles and worded in appropriate manner to be relevant for educational purposes. They importantly incorporate the three interdisciplinary domains of learning, namely Cognitive (Intellectual), Affective(Social/ emotional) and Kinesthetic (Physical). The learning of values is mainly behavioural leading to character development.

**JOY OF EFFOR:** Youngsters develop and practice physical, behavioural and intellectual skills by challenging themselves and each other in physical activities, movement, games and sport.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of JOY OF EFFORT would be to transcend across the disciplines of science, management, psychology and kinesiology. To succeed in any effort requires planning, application of science, mental readiness and the physical execution of the movement. The joy derived from the success of the effort is mental and psychological. The students can be assigned exercises in the class room or the playfield or both and may be allowed to plan and execute in groups and report back their joyous feelings on successful completion of the assigned project. For example, two groups in Field Hockey could be assigned the task of planning a move to score a goal in five minutes time. Planning could be done in the class room and the execution on the hockey field. They will report back to the teacher their joyous feelings both orally and in writing. The joy that results is intense because you overcome challenges.

**FAIR PLAY:** Though Fair play is a concept, it is applied worldwide today in many different ways. Learning fair play behaviour in sport can lead to the development and reinforcement of fair play behaviour in the community and in life.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of FAIR PLAY would be to transcend across the disciplines of science, ethics, psychology and kinesiology. The students need to be playing on the playground to inculcate fair play values. Two soccer groups could be deployed to teach fair play principles to all the other students of the institution. The spectator groups could be reporting the foul tactics adopted by the playing groups and the ensuing discussion would facilitate a post-mortem. Installing “Fair-play trophies” in soccer and other tournaments in the institute will enhance the learning process. The inculcated value should naturally transfer to the community.

**RESPECT FOR OTHERS:** When young people who live in a multicultural world learn to accept and respect diversity and practise personal behaviour, they promote peace and international understanding.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of RESPECT FOR OTHERS would be to transcend across the disciplines of science, ethics, psychology, human rights and kinesiology. Students need to be taught that charity begins at home. You start to respect elders in the home and transfer it to the neighbourhood, society, school, university and community. The orientation day in the institute would be the best opportunity to enlighten parents of the need for this vital principle. On the playfield this is a give and take principle. You get respect only when you give it to others. The principle is also based on human rights issue of the world. Every individual has the right to exist in his/her own right and all others are required to respect that. Respect should also cover diversities because unity achieved through diversities satisfy you more.

**PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE:** A focus on excellence can help young people to make positive, healthy choices, and strive to become the best that they can be in whatever they do.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE would be to transcend across the disciplines of science, ethics, psychology, biomechanics and kinesiology. Every student would strive to perform his/her best to achieve excellence. Be it in the field of education, sports or extracurricular activities, the student would aim to pursue the path of excellence. The Olympic principles are best taught and learned through activities and this principle is more personal than any other. The tendency of youngsters to play vigorously and to move, walk, run, sing and dance need to be utilized and channelized in order achieve excellence.

**BALANCE BETWEEN BODY, WILL AND MIND:** Learning takes place in the whole body, not just in the mind, and physical literacy and learning through movement contributes to the development of moral and intellectual learning. This concept became the foundation of Pierre De Coubertin’s interest in a revival of the Olympic games.

Interdisciplinary strategy adopted in the principle of BALANCE BETWEEN BODY, WILL AND MIND would be to transcend across the disciplines of science (neuromuscular system), psychology and kinesiology. The perfection of coordination between muscles and the brain is of foremost importance. The mental strength or will power follows with the proverb “where there is a will, there is a way” as the backdrop. The mind is the ultimate ruler sending signals to the muscles, debating over the effectiveness of the strategy and the final move to execute the project with perfect synchronisation of the body, brain and mind. This principle stresses the superiority of the whole-body over parts of the body in implementing plans. The students finally realise that this value is transferable to their day to day routine affairs bringing meaning and satisfaction in life.

The IOC apart from the Games devotes much of its attention to education of the youth. The International Olympic Academy, I have learned, is the senior partner for accomplishing this goal. The Olympic Education actually portrays a major canvas consisting of

1. National and International Olympic Academies.
2. Academic Research, Courses, Seminars in Universities & Olympic Study Centres
3. Informational books, Textbooks, Videos, CDs, TV visuals on the Games.
4. Olympic day-festivals-competitions in education campuses.
5. Physical education and high performance training.
6. Olympic Values education for children, young people and supporters.
7. Education and youth programme of Olympic GOCs.
8. Olympic and sports youth camps.
9. Olympic museums, halls of fame, art & cultural exhibitions.
10. Marketing and promotion programmes of Olympic sponsors & supporters.

The teaching of the Olympic principles can be achieved through the pathways of 1) Education through Olympism—an integrated and cross curricular approach; 2) Teacher centred class rooms; 3) Olympic theme or week; 4) Excellence through sports and physical education for young and gifted athletes; and 5) Training teachers and group leaders.

### Philosophy of OVEP

The educational values and principles of the Olympic movement originated from European philosophy and traditions but resonate in the 200 nations belonging to the Olympic family. There are differences in the traditional and cultural settings of these nations and teaching of values and their acceptance is a major challenge in some nations. Hence the basic duty of the educators will be to identify the ways that Olympic principles can amalgamate with existing educational priorities and to adapt and use the various activities appropriate to the realities of local belief systems and situations.

The Olympic Symbol, the Flag, the Oaths, the flame, the peace symbols, The games’ posters, the logos and mascots, the arts and crafts are household entities of today’s generation. Hence the teaching of the principles and values is considered incomplete without awareness of the symbols. There are plenty to learn and inculcate from these visible entities. They represent culture and heritages of every nation and an understanding of these at close quarters instils peace, harmony and brotherhood. The symbols and ceremonies, sports and cultural events of the Olympic Games are inspiring, motivational and provide a relevant context for learning and teaching activities.

### Conclusion

As a physical educator and an Olympic educator, my first and foremost objective is to convince the powers that matter in the educational scene to include Olympic values education in the university curriculum in India. This is a must-learn subject that deal in inculcation of character and values that add to the richness of one’s life. The student not only becomes aware of exemplary character but also of meaningful existence in the society and community. The advantage of the values education is that it teaches through practise of sports that ensure wellness of body and mind. It encourages unity and brotherhood, respect for foreign culture and diverse values and the realisation that Sports has no boundary. The values are inculcated through team work and group projects leading to group dynamics and cohesiveness.

The Olympic values and principles in nutshell, is a superb knowledge-house, with no curricular boundaries, that enriches the university student preparing him/her to be the future nation builder inculcating in him/her the realisation that the future belongs to today’s youth who should be thinking beyond religion, caste, creed, sex and boundaries separating cultures. The IOC with the help of IOA will not leave any stone unturned in its quest to educate the world youth the ultimate values that mark the corner-stone of healthy, thinking, vibrant and peace loving societies.

### References

1. Binder L Deanna, Teaching Values – An Olympic Education Toolkit, A Project of the International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland (2007)
2. Chelladurai P & Modella Alberto, Human Resource Management in Olympic Sports Organisation, Ohio, USA, Human Kinetics Publishers, (1997).
3. Lenskyj Helen Jefferson, Inside The Olympic Industry: Power Politics and Activism, State University of New York Press, (1997).
4. Cousinou Phil, The Olympic Odyssey: Rekindling The True Spirit of The Great Games, Quest Books, New York (1997).
5. Hayes Jacobs, H.(1994). Integrating the Curriculum. Salt Lake City, UT: The Video Journal of Education.
6. Najeeb,A.M.(2011). The Indispensability of Olympic Values in University Education. NAPESS online journal Vol:2/2.

The Digital Revolution Impact to Olympic Education

U.S. Sports Academy2016-04-01T09:33:41-05:00June 30th, 2011|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Management|

### Overview

1. Definition “Digital Media” and “Digital Revolution”
2. Empirical studies on the development and distribution of digital media
3. Phenomenological observations
4. Theses on the assessment of the digital revolution in terms of Olympic Education
5. References

### Definition of Digital Media and Digital Revolution

The term “digital media” refers to all electronic media, which operate on the basis of digital information and communication technology (Reimann/Eppler 2008). Their opposites are analog media. Digital media have become a communication media that functions on the basis of digital information and communication technology. On the other hand they represent technical equipment for digitizing, calculation, recording, storage, etc. of digital content (Wikipedia 2008).

“Revolution” generally means an overthrow or downfall. In our context, digital revolution describes the rapid and profound changes that have been coming along with the digital media in the last 30 years.

Describing scientifically the situation in Germany should help in obtaining a closer look at the digital revolution, where one can assume that the situation in other countries proceeded or will proceed very similarly, maybe a few years earlier or later.

Sociologists characterize a “modernization” in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s by television. Many researchers link this medium with far-reaching cultural and social changes, using phrases like “Television childhood” and the “loss of childhood” (maybe someone remembers the title of the famous book by the American sociologist Neil Postman). They feared considerably poorer conditions for the development of their children. To date, parents are insecure and researchers discuss the question of whether young people are negatively affected by television in the development of their personality. (Fölling-Albers 2001, 4).

In the 1990s, especially in the late 1990s—I’m talking about the past 10 years—a further development became apparent, which may be called the “second wave of modernization.” Beyond television, CD players, etc. there are now computers, mobile phones and the Internet, which gained importance at least in terms of older children and young people. On the one hand they did so as status symbols, on the other hand, as modified and enhanced media capabilities of information gathering and communication: Internet, e-mails, SMS etc. (Fölling-Albers 2001, 34), Facebook, etc.

For the first time in history, the American Internet store Amazon has sold more e-books than printed books—a fact that clearly shows how much the world is influenced by digital media (SZ 05./06.03.2011).

Furthermore, the newest developments presented on the “CEBIT”—the arguably largest computer convention in the world—make clear, that the technical development of digital media is not yet complete. Mobiles are not only used for calling, they serve as organizers, calculators, cameras, VCRs, small computers with Internet access which can download movies. In a recent development they are even used for creating and playing movies in 3-D format without glasses!

And again: parents, teachers, scientists are scared by the running development and the running market of digital media and their influence on adolescents.

Some empirical studies are sought to support the current distribution and importance of digital media for young people.

### 2.0 Empirical studies on the development and distribution of digital media

2.1 Due to the variety of data, we focus our analyses to adolescents between 14 and 18 years, since this age group is taking part in the Youth Olympic Games. It was a special demand of the IOC, that—in context of the cultural part of the official program of the YOG—young people from all over the world should be taught how to work with digital media.

#### 2.2 Some facts from empirical studies

The following facts are taken from the “Hans-Bredow-Institut” in Hamburg which gathers information about the use of media worldwide. The information is updated every year. The last edition is the 28th edition from the year 2009. Some more of the following facts are taken from the “Media Education Research Association Southwest” (= mpfs). They go back to the surveys in 2010, in which 1,208 young people between 12 and 19 years (51% boys and 49% girls) were interviewed by telephone between May and July 2010. These researches focus media in general—and within this digital media, too.

#### 2.2.1 Digital media in German households in which adolescents live in 2010
(JIM-Study 2010, 6)

Figure 1 shows that nearly all German households do have mobiles, computers/laptops and Internet access.

#### 2.2.2 Spread of the Internet in Tunisia

Reference: Ministère des Technologies de la Communication, www.infocom.tn/index.php?id=26
(Hans-Bredow-Institut 2009, 1208)

Table 1 shows the rapid increase in the spread of the Internet use (in many respects between 4 to 6 times in 6 years).

#### 2.2.3 Media equipment in Indonesian households

(Hans-Bredow-Institut 2009, 918)

Table 2: According to the data about Indonesia, the spread of Internet access and mobiles still seems to be near the beginning.

#### 2.2.4 Media equipment in Kenyan households (in %)

Research from: CCK 2005, APC Africa
(Hans-Bredow-Institut 2009, 988)

Table 3: In Kenya there are signs of a similar development as in Indonesia. Note in particular the increase concerning Internet access and mobiles.

#### 2.2.5 Average number of digital media per household
(JIM-Study 2010, 7)

Figure 2: In many German households digital media are to be found several times. On average there are 4 mobile phones, 2.7 computers and 2.4 televisions per household. In other words, over 50% of households own three or more computers and 42% do own at least 3 televisions. More than 88% of households possess 3 or more phones (JIM-Study 2010, 7f.)

#### 2.2.6 Digital media owned by young people in 2010
(JIM Studies 2010, 8)

Figure 3: 97% of young German people between 12 and 19 years have their own mobile phone, 79% have their own computer or their own laptop, and more than 50% have their own Internet access. These data are similar for girls and boys (JIM 2010, 7f).

#### 2.2.7 Leisure time use of digital media in 12-19 year olds in Germany
(JIM Studies 2010, 12)

Figure 4: In terms of daily use, mobiles rank first. However, these findings do not surprise as mobile phones more and more turn into small portable computers.

2.2.8 Content related distribution of Internet use
(mpfs 2008, 16)

Figure 5 is of particular interest as it reflects the high proportion of Internet communication. Especially girls (56%) spend significantly more time online in comparison to their male peers (42%).

### Conclusion

Summing up this overview, there is no doubt that the digital revolution in adolescents occurs worldwide and that it influences our reality. Whether we like it or not, we will definitely not be able to stop it.

Similarly is the finding that adolescents often do handle those new media much easier than adults and that the new media considerably changed everyday life, leisure time and thus the life of adolescents (Fölling-Albers 2001, 38).

### 3.0 Phenomenological observations

#### 3.1 Some fundamental comments on digital media

The digital media can be viewed as one of the pillars of the globalized world. An almost unlimited access to all kinds of information is possible within the shortest time almost everywhere around the world.

It also seems important to note that access to the desired entertainment (e.g. movies) or information is immediately possible at any time. Digital media provide the possibility of directly participating in events happening in politics, business, sports etc. It is no longer necessary to wait for the newspaper on the next day to get information about the newest developments. How fast Internet groups form, could recently be observed in the affair about the German minister of defence zu Guttenberg. Even before the largest newspaper in Germany was able to barrack with zu Guttenberg, tens of thousands of PHD-students had already formed to a powerful opposition in the web. Since then, experts consider the Internet as the fifth power in the state (next to the judical, executive etc.).

Not only the speed of digital media, but their almost unlimited amount of data must be noted. Without doubt: This is positive. But this is also associated with problems: On the one hand there is the problem of information overload and the danger of losing oneself in it. The distinction between important and unimportant contents is absolutely necessary for the users of digital media. Especially when you look at adolescents it is doubtful whether they can always meet this distinction sufficiently.

On the other hand, it is often discussed whether in fact all information should be accessible to everyone or not. The recently published WikiLeaks-revelations about US-American assessments of politicians around the world is just one example.

Another observation has already been said to be the major cause for the loss of childhood in our present time by Neil Postman: children and young people have access to all information and pictures of the adult world. These images range from images of horror after natural disasters or from war zones, to glorification of violence, to pornography.

Internationally recognized brain researchers point out that the human brain is always learning. It continuously learns and stores the results of what is being offered to it. There are a number of studies from the U.S., demonstrating a direct link between aggressive content of media (TV, Internet) and aggressive behaviour of the consuming people (Spitzer 2010; Kölner call; and references to Bedenk 2010, 11). The effectiveness especially of the role model of aggressive simulation games is regarded as problematic if there are “aggressive tendencies as a result of experienced psychosocial attention deficits in childhood or because of previously experienced success of their own aggression” (Mogel 2008, 206).

Their prevalence is as unclear as the question of whether in post-modern societies, such as through changes in family structures, they may increase or not. Basically, this problem can be cut right to the chase whether everything should and can actually be accessible for everyone. Even if one denies this question, the question of how to block non-desired contents still remains. Think of the area of child pornography.

In addition, the information in words and pictures are of political power; it crucially determines the public perception of an event: This was clearly the case in the Iraq war, in Germany with Stuttgart 21, or is currently happening in the states of North Africa. It seems only logical that those in power try to control the information spread by the mass media. Especially in the current political situation in the North African states it is getting obvious that digital media play a vital and important role concerning the people´s communication options. It seems as if the race between the suppression of free digital communication and the removal of corresponding blocks was of decisive meaning for the outcome of the political events.

#### 3.2 Isolation by use of digital media

Without a doubt, the technically innovative design of digital media has a challenging character for adolescents. Especially with regard to the computer games (on- or offline), their attractiveness rises by showing more perfect, more varied and more diverse games in bursts and by a variety of ways to involve the players. Sometimes, it seems like adolescents disregard their personality development. Is this really true?

If one follows the theory that toys can be seen as witnesses of their age and we see our time unmistakably characterized by computers, it is logical that video and computer games expand. Since many computer-games are for being played alone in front of the screen, this circumstance pokes the fear that adolescents play alone too often and too long. Especially in single children there is an increased risk of lack of social contacts and additional social isolation. On the other hand it is suggested that “multi-player games” are suitable for promoting social contacts with each other. It is also observed that adolescents spend entire afternoons and nights to beat high scores (Mogel 2008, 192ff.) being linked to each other in LAN sessions. Under the label of e-sports major national and international communities have come together to play their digital games within regular events and championships in an organized form of competition—some with prizes exceeding € 100,000 (eg. EPS Finals from June 13-14, 2009) (Wiemeyer 2009, 127). Therefore, M. Bedenk sees the image of some popular “lonely” computer players, ever since the development of online multi-player games, as outdated. The Internet offers both, significant opportunities to play online with and against each other and to communicate during the game and after. Of course, it has to be noted that social exchange taking place here is media-mediated and does not take place through a direct encounter. On the one hand, this leads to the fact that for example the communication partners are not able to respond to facial expressions or gestures, so that information is lost. On the other hand, it is easy to meet with new players and conversation partners from other countries or cultures (Bedenk 2010, 51f.).

The question whether children become isolated by the intensive use of digital media is, therefore, answered differently by experts. However, it is of concern, that playing computer games limits the meaning of experiences in the visual and acoustic sense, whereas the so-called “secondary experience” prevail and the “primary experience” gets lost (Horn 2010).

Although many games are now constructed in a very realistic way, such as flight simulators, the concept of reality, e.g. in the game “Need for Speed,” in which accidents can happen over and over again without any consequences, remains questionable. Also, a canoeing-trip in the computer game can—despite the many dangers that come along from time to time—not be compared to a real canoeing-trip. Not to mention the correspondence to reality of so called “shooters” in which as many people as possible must be killed without any real consequences.

Of course, one could argument, that the reference of the player who is playing in fictional and illusory worlds, is completely real (Mogel 2008, 196ff) comparable to the role-playing games that are an integral part of the child’s game development. In contrast, the neuroscientist M. Spitzer considers that the human brain is constantly changing with its use and therefore the use of digital media does have an impact on the growth of individuals. M. Spitzer summarizes these effects by the loss of the holistic learning and the negative impact on emotional and socio-psychological processes (Spitzer 2010).

#### 3.3 Hypoactivity through digital media

The typical movement character of games mostly comes short in the use of digital media. By using mouse and keyboard, motor processes are limited to fine motor skills and therefore to a minimum. However, it can not be said, that gamers actually move less. A global review of studies on computer use and physical activity (eg, Maaz 2005; Brettschneider & Naul 2004; Lorber 2006; Marshall 2004; Schneider, Dunton, Cooper 2007; Koezuka 2006, etc. – and references to Wiemeyer 2009, 123ff) documents a heterogeneous situation. A general negative impact of digital games is – if any – weak (Wiemeyer 2009, 125).

The above-mentioned periods of use of digital media and the increase in time in front of the TV in Germany – German adults in 2010 watched TV at an average of 223 minutes per day (MB 04.01.2011) – suggest that the use of modern media could contribute to a lack of exercise. Obviously also the computer game industry has recognized the call for action. Thus, increasingly, digital games are offered, which require the activity of the whole-body, e.g. Dance Revolution or Wii. However, anyone who has ever played “tennis” on Wii will probably agree that this has only very little in common with real tennis or whole-body activity. Also, studies show that energy expenditure – under appropriate intensity and the involvement of large muscle groups – may rise to 8 kcal / minute. However, to reach the generally recommended health-related physiological threshold of 1000 kcal / week, we would have to spend more than 2 hours a week playing. The declining motivation, which is adjusted in these games relatively quickly (eg Madsen et al., 2007), suggests that the lack of physical activity of adolescents in Europe and the U.S. can not be adequately met by playing these games (Wiemeyer, 2009, 124ff. ). Also the statement that digital games could be specifically used “to convey techniques or disciplines” (Wiemeyer 2009, 126) in sports must currently be considered as illusory.

#### 3.4 Changing communication through digital media

The innovative aspect in the communications by phone and computer is that both communication partners are accessible at anytime and anywhere. The desire to tell someone, even about trivia, does not need to be delayed. Similar to the access to information, also the desired communication partners can be reached immediately, regardless of their staging.

Computers and the Internet offer a platform for self-expression and self-presentation, as everyone is and would be appreciated to be seen. This possibility fits the need of post-modern societies, in which broken predetermined roles, traditions and self-understandings are substituted by the need to find their individuality and embody themselves (Bette 1999; 2008, 361; Wetz 2008). Facebook, for example, offers a global platform for this purpose which allows you to publish pictures and information about yourself that you would like to make available to the public. The fact that some people allow a closer look into their private lives, and that they give personal information to other people in other contexts (eg. job applications) are not necessarily advantageous of the “glass man.” The variety of friendships certainly provides the possibility to find old friends and/or make new friends. Who ultimately gets you by which attention appears problematic especially in the adolescence. A good thing is the possibility to reject or terminate “friendships.” Another new aspect of those media is that you can terminate friendships even without facing each other.

#### 3.5 Multi-tasking

Finally, there are three developments by the digital media which accelerate the existing trends on television. First, there is a loss of a prior choice what you want to see or what one wants to deal with. Digital media offer you ideal conditions to surf and then, if something seems interesting, to stick with it. In addition, here you may encounter the phenomenon of “zapping.” You do not want to see anything in particular; therefore, you are searching the almost unlimited possibilities for what could be interesting. Finally, the internet more and more invites you for “multi-tasking”: research information on the Internet, listen to music and communicate at the same time. Such behavior is in clear contrast to the traditional philosophical or educational positions demanding “concentration.” Here, however, also brain research warns, which emphasizes that the human brain can do only one thing. Thus, it is shown that Multi-tasking just does not enhance hiding distracting stimuli and switching between tasks (Spitzer 2010). M. Wolf also expressed in her book “The reading brain”—where she writes about changes in the brains of the users by digital media—that “more” and “faster” does not necessarily mean “better” (Spitzer 2010). A causal relationship between lack of concentration, attention deficits, etc., and multi-tasking is obvious, although the variety of studies in this regard are another matter.

#### 3.6 Conclusion

At all mentioned points, findings are contradictory. Rejectors and supporters are equally distributed. For further research, it is imperative to involve on the one hand, both the digital media and the person using it and the particular situation of use (Bedenk 2010, 31). On the other hand it´s important to involve the many scientific disciplines that deal with the “new” media, in an integrative approach (Bedenk 2010, 11).

### 4. Evaluation of the Digital Revolution in Terms of Olympic Education

The assessment of a case, for example the digital media always happens within the interactions between perception, explanation, and values of the evaluator (Bedenk 2010, 24). The consideration of the first two issues has shown that the current globalized world is essentially determined by the digital media. Those who want to participate in the current “world society,” must have access to digital media and have the know-how of its use. As a further development an even wider use of digital media is to be expected in the future, especially adolescents are affected by this development: thus, the world of digital media is increasingly becoming the world of young people. The above-mentioned third aspect—the values—is necessarily subjective. Here, it is therefore made in the form of theses, which should serve as a basis for discussion:

**Thesis 1:** The information-presentation and dissemination of the Olympic idea and the Olympic ideals must be presented to the young people by the media they use. Since these are primarily digital media, Olympism has to represent the Olympic movement by using that media if Olympism wants to reach the young people around the world without being redundant.

**Thesis 2:** Opportunities for access to and know-how of the use of digital media is to be regarded as an extended condition of understanding in our contemporary world. A division of the world into a (majority) part of digital media and a (smaller) part of non-digital-media would mean a further injustice that would be against the peace idea of Olympism. This is the case when “peace” within the meaning of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant is seen as a just (world) order, which includes far more than a silence of weapons (Kant 1999).

**Thesis 3:** As digital media involve certain risks, it would be irresponsible to let young people alone with dealing with the digital media and the commercial interests of suppliers who deliver them. In contrast, an education for meaningful use of digital media in general and in the spirit of Olympism is essential. The Olympic ideal of perfection of the individual was certainly possible without digital media. But now that they have become an integral part of our world an educational mission regarding the development of the personality is connected with them. This also includes the global sport in its exercise, its media presentation and a critical assessment. Fair play, especially in highest level sports (which media are interested in and where everyone is almost condemned to success), still plays a major role here as an ethical scale.

**Thesis 4:** As digital media disseminate the sedentary world, it is important to show young people again and again the usefulness of physical activity, to educate them about exercise, sports and games and to give them the joy of sports competition in order to communicate fairness and mutual respect to themselves and to others. To move, play games and do sports so that it enriches the lives, that it contributes to well-being and satisfaction and that it provides a sense of achievement and happiness – this is a part of the Olympic education, especially in the world of digital media (Horn 2009).

**Thesis 5:** If the YOG really wants to create a new understanding of Olympism for young people it is not enough to just set another international sport event for them. It is necessary to try new ways. And one way can be to educate them as it is intended in a CEP and to include the understanding and responsible use of digital media.

### References

1. Bedenk, M. (2010). Computerspielen verstehen.Marburg: Tectum Verlag.
2. Bette, K.-H. (1999). Systemtheorie und Sport. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
3. Bette, K.-H. (2008). Soziologie des Abenteur- und Risikosports. In K. Weis und R. Gugutzer (Hrsg.). Handbuch Sportsoziologie. 358 – 367. Schorndorf: Hofmann.
4. Fölling-Albers, M. (2001). Veränderte Kindheit – revisited. Konzepte und Ergebnisse sozialwissenschaftlicher
5. Kindheitsforschung der vergangenen 20 Jahre. In: M. Fölling-Albers, S. Richter, H. Brügelmann , A. Speck-Hamdan (Hrsg.). Jahrbuch Grundschule III. Fragen der Praxis – Befunde der Forschung. 10 – 51. Seelze/Velber: Kallmeyersche Buchhandlung.
6. Hans-Bredow-Institut (Hrsg.). (2009). Internationales Handbuch Medien. 28. Auflage. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
7. Horn, A. (2009). Bewegung und Sport. Eine Didaktik. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt.
8. Horn, A. (2010). Spielräume in der veränderten kindlichen Lebenswelt. Gestalttherapie Heft 2/2020. 51 – 74.
9. Http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategorie:Digitale Medien
10. Kant, I. (1972). Zum ewigen Frieden. Stuttgart: Reclam.
11. Kölner Aufruf. <http://www.gwg-ev.org/cms/cms.php?print=1&textid=1384> (20.06.09).
12. Mangfall-Bote vom 04. 01.2011, 1.
13. Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (mpfs) (2008). Computer- und Consolenspiele. Download am 27.12.2010 unter www.mpfs.de/Computer_Consolen_JIMKIM08.pdf (= mpfs).
14. Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (mpfs) (2010). JIM-Studie 2010.Jugend, Information, (Multi-)Media. Basisuntersuchung zum Medienumgang 12 – 19-Jähriger. Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg, Thomas Rathgeb, Reinsburgstr. 27, 70178 Stuttgart (= JIM-Study).
15. Mogel, H. (2008). Psychologie des Kinderspiels. 3. Aufl. Heidelberg: Springer.
16. Postman, N. (1983). Das Verschwinden der Kindheit. Frankfurt: Fischer.
17. Reimann, G./Eppler, M. (2008). Wissenswege. Bern. <Http://www.persoenliches-wissensmanagement.com/content/definition-digitale-medien>.
18. Spitzer. M. (2010).Im Netz. SZ vom 22.09.2010, 8.
19. SZ vom 05./06. 03. 2011, Wochenendbeilage V2/1.
20. Wetz, F.-J. (2008). Abenteuer des Körpers. Über Sport, Drogen und Sex. In V. Steenblock (Hrsg.). Kolleg Praktische Philosophie. Band 3. Zeitdiagnose. 167 – 205. Stuttgart: Reclam.
21. Wiemeyer. J. (2009). Digitale Spiele. (Kein) Thema für die Sportwissenschaft?! Sportwissenschaft 2/2009, 120 – 128.

The Importance of New Forms of Technology in the Dissemination of Humanistic Ideas

U.S. Sports Academy2016-04-01T09:34:50-05:00June 30th, 2011|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|

### Introduction

Human play, as embodied in sports, is one of the most important expressions of human culture. It can be said that the games people play in a society are a reflection of the society as a whole. It can also be said that communication is the one dominant attribute that distinguishes human beings from every other species on the planet. Thus the intersection of communication and sports in the human experience is an important one.

The Olympic movement is considered to be one of the largest social movements in human history. Nowhere else do the countries of the world gather in one place as they do during the Summer Olympic Games. While the peaceful gathering of the world’s youth for sports competition is the embodiment of that intersection of sport and communication, this fact underscores the importance of the media in conveying Olympic values and ideals. In many respects, it is a relationship between the Olympic community and the media that allows the Games to be conducted on the scale that they are.

This presentation will briefly examine the evolution of this relationship from the founding of the Olympic movement at the height of the Industrial Revolution to the dawning of the Information Age. The discussion of the early days will necessarily be brief as the primary focus of this presentation is on the ways that technology, and more specifically the Internet, is driving the communications process and with it the dissemination of the human ideals. There will be a discussion of some of this new media and the presentation will conclude with some of the challenges before us as we look to the future being wrought through technological change.

### Evolution of Media

As has already been noted, the Olympic movement was founded at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. The founder of the Olympic movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, authored many articles arguing for the establishment of a modern Olympic Games. An example of this effort was the publication of an essay in the “Review de Paris” in June, 1894 on the very eve of the first Olympic Congress setting out his vision for the establishment of a modern Olympic Games (4).

Writing in the 19th century was a lengthy process, meaning that 19th century writers faced a much longer period than happens today, between researching, writing, and receiving payment for their work. Only the best educated individuals, usually from privileged backgrounds had the time, expertise, talent, inclination, and financial backing to undertake this effort (2). Illustrated news weeklies or monthlies were among the primary means of communication and dissemination of the news in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This medium was also one that was particularly well suited to the audience that de Coubertin was trying to reach. The founders of the Olympic movement were well educated and well-to-do. Therefore, the message to this audience leant itself well to the tenets of the early games that they should only be open to amateurs; those who participated in sport as an avocation as opposed to a vocation (4).

However, the on-going Industrial Revolution was bringing about important society-wide changes that allowed sports to flourish. This included a population migration from rural to urban centers, increases in disposable income accompanying a rise in the middle-class and eventually, more leisure time that allowed more recreational activities, among them participation in and the viewing of sports events.

Concurrent with the rise in the middle class was a wider distribution of newspapers, many of which began to include sports coverage. Sports coverage did, in fact, become one of the ways that newspapers in larger metropolitan areas competed with each other. As interest in sports generally, and local teams particularly, began to appear in newspapers, the amount of space given over to this content expanded over time. As there were in these early days, no broadcast media, the newspaper sports coverage of the day was largely descriptive play-by-play recaps of the sports events.

Eventually, however, broadcast media was introduced to the communications mix and began to usurp the role historically played by the newspapers. First radio, and later television, allowed the audience to experience the sport events as they occurred with their play-by-play broadcasts. Thus, the role of the newspapers and weekly or monthly sport themed news magazines began to evolve from reporting the play-by-play, now done by the broadcast media, to more reporting of “behind the scenes” activities or analysis of the athletes, teams and events. There are two lessons to be learned from this experience. First is that as technology evolved and new forms of communication emerged, message content carried in the channels of distribution changed as well. So too is this the case today; as technology evolves so does the nature of the message content being distributed.

The second lesson concerns the role of “gatekeepers” such as editors or producers in the public communications process. During this early period there were comparatively few media outlets. In Europe, countries might have one or two “national” newspapers plus those in the metropolitan areas. In the United States, there was no general national newspaper until the advent of “USA Today” in 1982. While larger metropolitan areas may have as many as five news dailies, most of the country were smaller markets that could support no more than one or two. In terms of electronic broadcasting, the available air time for sports was typically limited as most outlets aired a variety of content and in the early days of television in the United States there were only three major television networks. Because of the limited availability of channels of distribution, editors in the newsroom or producers of over-the-air broadcasting wielded enormous power in determining what their audience would read or hear. The selection process for media was typically driven by market concerns; but in any case was decidedly autocratic.

### The Information Age and Rise of the Internet

Human civilization has moved from the Age of Industry to the Information Age. While the general consensus is that the dawn of the Information Age is the 1970’s, the changes wrought to society through technological change really accelerated with the creation of the World-Wide- Web (the web). As changes in technology changes channels of communication and message content, a brief discussion of the underlying technology is in order.

The early 1960s saw experimentation with computer technology that established the protocols for what became known as the Internet in 1969. This feat was followed by the development of Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) in 1989 that became the basis for the development of the web though it was not until 1993, that the web was introduced to the public-at-large.

Most early websites were a series of static web pages connected by hyperlinks that could be internal, which provided structure to a website or external leading to other websites based on whatever criteria the webmaster decided. The underlying computer technology such as processors, memory, and connectivity limited the content of these early web pages. Most hosts, or the site where the web content was posted, were initially personal computers (PCs) adapted for this purpose, although eventually specialized computer devices called “web servers” evolved. Over the years, the capability of these website servers has changed dramatically as has the role of the webmaster. Today, virtually all commercial or professionally developed websites are dynamic with the web content contained in a relational database called “the backend”. Most websites also have a variety of plug-in applications, such as secure financial transaction software for ecommerce, called “middleware”, and the front facing graphic interface that people see when they arrive at a website. Webmasters have evolved into web developers and the skills required for maintaining a website can vary significantly between those working the backend and those designing the frontend.

On the recipient’s end were similar technological limitations. PC’s that had their processor capability expressed in numbers such as the 286, 386, 486 and Pentiums. In terms of connectivity, bandwidth has increased exponentially with a succession of changes from dial-up modems to ISDN and now broadband. Thus, early on the limitations of technology necessarily limited the content; e.g. the message.

Over the past 30 years, society has experienced a fundamental change in the way information is created and disseminated. From its rudimentary early beginning, the interface between computer technology and users has evolved to a point where virtually anyone can create “media content” and post it to the web where it can be accessed and read by anyone in the world with access to the computer resources to do so. This has led to another fundamental and extraordinarily significant change: a process of democratization. No longer can gatekeepers such as the editors or publishers of the old media exert autocratic or monopolistic control over the flow of information into the public sphere. There are, however, both positives and negatives to this state of affairs as we shall see in our ensuing discussion of the evolution of the web.

### Web 1.0 – The Inaugural Web

During the formative days of the web, strategies for the dissemination of information could be broadly classified as “push” versus “pull”. Push refers to the proactively sending out or distributing messages across the Internet most commonly by email from one user’s account to another. One of the ways in which email was used as a precursor to today’s Web 2.0 applications, such as blogs and social networking sites, was the listserv. A listserv was a group of individuals typically bound together by a common interest who signed onto an email list to receive messages on a topic of mutual interest. When an email was sent in bulk to the list, anyone in the group could respond to the sent message which subsequently went to everyone else in the group. In so doing, an online discussion and sharing of ideas would ensue.

Unfortunately, the widespread abuse of email has gradually restricted its utility as a medium of communication exchange beyond personal messages. Both marketers and criminals seized upon email as a means to try and sell their wares or dupe people into giving up money which gave rise to the spam phenomenon. Unfortunately, spam is still a plague on the Internet with an estimated 48.5 billion messages sent everyday largely through networks of compromised computers called botnets. In March, 2011, one of the largest of these, the Rustock Botnet that was sending as many 13.82 billion spam emails each day, was finally taken down by the authorities (8). Partially as a consequence of this abuse, more and more people are seeking out alternative channels for the sharing of electronic communications such as through the messaging capabilities of Facebook or Twitter.

The other concept is that of “pull” in which individuals actively seek out web content utilizing web browsers and devices such as search engines. The key to this strategy is to insure that this web content is properly optimized and has appropriate tags so it becomes more visible on the web and easier to find.

Education is the most powerful vehicle for the transmission of human ideals. It is in the realm of education that the Internet has had a profound impact. The advent of the Internet and the worldwide web has fundamentally changed the paradigm of education; a paradigm that had essentially been unchanged since the 16th century. Early on, the Academy embraced this change and developed a distance education program that can be defined as asynchronous, transformational, and computer mediated. This means that the Academy’s students can pursue their studies across the Internet using computer resources at any time and from any place without the faculty and student needing to present on-line at the same time. While removing impediments to learning created by time and space, the institution has transformed the traditional educational experience of the lecturer in the classroom to learning activities distributed through the web in which learning outcomes and course objectives are satisfied.

There has been a lot of skepticism with respect to the efficacy of online education. The validity of the model has been validated by the Academy’s own research among which has been the comparison of comprehensive examination results between resident and online students. The institution’s accrediting agency, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, reviewed and approved the Academy’s distance education program in 1996, and currently more than 85% of the Academy’s students report that they have learned as much or more through online education as they did in resident study. The Academy is also pleased that more than 96% of its students would recommend the Academy’s online education programs to friends or colleagues.

Illustrative of this approach to education is the Olympic Values Education Program (OVEP) that was prepared for distance learning delivery by the Academy under a grant from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2008. Through the web, the OVEP program is available to anyone in the world who has access to the Internet, and further utilizing emerging technology, such as the Google Universal Translator, albeit with some inherent limitations, it can be accessed in any one of 52 different languages. The online OVEP course can be reached at [students.ussa.edu/olympic_values](students.ussa.edu/olympic_values). I should also note that the Academy recently completed another such cross-cultural academic offering with the preparation of a bachelor’s degree course entitled the “Shaolin Philosophy of Kung Fu.” The basis for the course is a 1,500-year-old manuscript that was translated from the ancient to the modern version of Chinese and then into English. The Academy’s Department of Instructional Design then refined the English and placed it into an online course environment. In so doing, East meets West, the ancient meets the new and we come full circle insofar as the modern English course can be translated back into Chinese with the universal translator function built into the Academy’s Course Management System (CMS).

Very important in the supporting of student education and the dissemination of human values is access to libraries and research resources. In 1997, the Academy was among the first organizations to put online a peer-reviewed research Journal, [The Sport Journal](http://www.thesportjournal.org). This Journal is provided subscription-free to the public and is accessed on average about 15,000 times per week. As a matter of interest, all of the papers from last year’s International Olympic Academy (IOA) were posted to The Sport Journal site in a special Olympic edition of the Journal. From the comfort of their own homes, the Academy’s students can use the Internet to access more than 57,000 libraries in 112 countries that have over 70 million holdings and 270,000 unique journals through the institution’s library portal on its’ website. However, access to educational resources, such as libraries, are not restricted to students in universities. Very early in the development of the web, the Encyclopedia Britannica posted its entire body of work online and made it available on a subscription basis. Today, there are a myriad of libraries to which the public has access free-of-charge, such as the Alabama Public Online Library. Organizations such as Google are digitizing the holdings of entire research libraries with the ultimate intent of placing these online for ease of access; though inevitably at a price.

### Web 2.0 – The Social Web

The rise of participatory information sharing through the Internet has truly revolutionized the dissemination of information using web 2.0 techniques. With the advent of the social web, the creation of content has evolved from the efforts of a comparative few in the media professions to a model that maximizes the contributions of the multitudes. With about 400 social media platforms available and an untold number of blogs being authored, the proliferation of communication channels, both public and professional, and private and amateur, allow for the contribution of millions of people sharing a public conversation unprecedented in the human experience. One of the most important consequences of the proliferation of these platforms available to virtually anyone with access to the Internet, is the democratization of media content. What people can see and hear has been taken out of the hands of the gatekeepers and placed into the hands of society at large.

It is not possible within the constraints of this presentation to cover all aspects of the social web, so the author has selected five representative examples beginning with a discussion of Wikipedia. If the Encyclopedia Britannica, long acknowledged as a definitive compendium of human knowledge, represents Web 1.0 technology in which content is simply posted and accessed by people through subscription, Wikipedia represents a web 2.0 application because of its collaborative nature insofar as anyone can submit articles for inclusion.

Ironically enough, I have turned to Wikipedia for a definition of itself though I should note that at the Academy there is a prominent notice posted on the library portal that Wikipedia is not considered an appropriate source of citations for research papers for reasons that will be explained. By its own definition, Wikipedia is a free, web based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wiki Media Foundation. Its 18 million articles (over 3.6 million in English) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site. Wikipedia was launched in 2001, and has become the largest and most popular general reference on the Internet ranking seventh among all websites on Alexa.com (a web statistics reporting site) and 365 million readers. (9)

The reason that Wikipedia has not been widely accepted in academic research has its roots in its early days. The articles submitted at that time frequently were not carefully researched, often inaccurate, and sometimes posted with malicious intent. It is significant to note that many of these issues have been addressed through the use of anonymous reviewers who examine submissions from the general public for both accuracy and appropriateness. Nonetheless, it still remains a very important resource insofar as researchers, especially the youngest, still access Wikipedia as a point of departure in their research to give them ideas on where to go for additional information.

For those of you who have entries in Wikipedia, it is worth your time to periodically check the content to ensure that someone has not submitted inaccurate or even malicious information. Further, and especially given the reach of Wikipedia, it affords organizations the opportunity to promulgate their missions and activities. For example, in the entry on Olympia, the article posted there cites its role in the ancient Olympic Games and presents a chronology of the site by era to the present day. It does not, however, mention the IOA so a submission could be authored for consideration and inclusion how Olympia serves as the site of the IOA together with a description of its mission and function.

One of the true phenomena of the last few years in Web 2.0 technology is the rise of Facebook as suggested by Internet usage statistics posted on Alexa.com. In April, 2011 more than 40% of all global Internet users visited Facebook on a daily basis, a rate of usage that has remained consistent over the past three months.

Facebook represents the power of social media as individuals sharing common experiences are provided a platform through which these experiences or interests can be shared. As friends beget friends, the media content on Facebook expands in ever increasing circles. This content is not limited to posts or messaging, but also includes YouTube video clips, decidedly unscientific opinion polls, and games. Additionally, the messaging function built into Facebook has, in many circles, replaced email as the preferred means of interpersonal electronic communication.

Facebook can be a two edged sword as the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time found out much to his chagrin. This individual, who won a record eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, suffered the consequences of the posting of a photograph to Facebook of him consuming illegal recreational drugs. This incident sullied his image and reputation and cost him millions of dollars in endorsement revenue. The irony is that the picture posted was not posted on his personal Facebook page, but on that of another individual who happened to be at the same party. In this instance the interconnectivity of the medium produced dire consequences for a sports hero and role model. This incident also underscores the need to be circumspect with what one posts to social media sites and a good guideline is not to post anything you would not want to see in a newspaper. It is not uncommon for prospective employers, among others, to search out Facebook pages in an effort to gain insights on a given individual.

Another extraordinarily popular site, and one already mentioned, is YouTube. Founded in February, 2005, viewership on YouTube exceeded two billion views per day in May, 2010. YouTube allows viewers to watch and share originally created videos and provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small (10). Alexa.com reported in April, 2011 that YouTube is the third most visited global website receiving just over 26% of daily website visits over the past three months.

YouTube, whose web interface is available in 42 languages, can be accessed by anyone although those individuals who want to post content on the site must be registered. For regular users, the time limit for any one post is 15 minutes. Posting video content there can be accomplished from a wide range of devices from computers to mobile phones. YouTube video posts spread across the entire Internet by appearing as links in emails, posts on other social media platforms, such as Facebook and in blogs. Periodically, a video on YouTube will “go viral”, which simply refers to a phenomenon in which the content captures the public’s imagination and is promulgated through a vast array of distribution channels.

However, sites such as YouTube pose a recognized threat to the business model of many sports organizations. The blogging and social media rules of the IOC specifically proscribe the posting of “moving images” or sound. While these guidelines can be enforced on accredited individuals to the Games, such as national delegations or the media, it is much harder to do with spectators seated in the stadium. Modern 3G or 4G phones can easily capture video of sporting events from the stadium seat, and the video can be uploaded to YouTube through a user’s account. While such activity violates the terms of service for registered account holders, the process for removing the content and terminating a user’s account can sometimes be a lengthy one. In the meantime, to the extent to which the video has been accessed and distributed through posts on other social media web sites or platforms, it can never be removed from the web in its entirety. Obviously, this is a major issue for media companies that may pay as much as billions of dollars for exclusive media rights to the event.

Another social media phenomenon is Twitter and, in fact, the Winter Games in Vancouver were cited as the first “Twitter Olympics” (5). The Twitter posts, called tweets, of the athletes provide insights to their physical and mental preparation for competition, their reactions to being in the Olympic Games and other aspects of the Olympic experience that simply were not possible in the past through traditional media outlets. Twitter allows for the sharing of the human experience with an unparalleled immediacy and intimacy with potentially vast audiences that is not tempered with the interference of a gatekeeper. Many tweets generated by Olympians at the Vancouver Winter Games can be found on the web by simply “Googling” Olympic athlete tweets.

However, as was the case with Facebook, Twitter can also be a two edged sword. There have been instances where athletes have posted comments denigrating their competition, the officials, and even their teammates or coaches. These actions can create dissension on teams and when comments go viral, they can take on a life of their own and stir considerable controversy and unfavorable comment in the press. This has occurred frequently enough that some teams ban their athletes from using Twitter, while other teams such as that of the Australian Olympic Team provide their athletes with training on the appropriate use of the medium.

Lastly, I would like to touch on “blogging” as a medium for the dissemination of the human experience. A blog can be thought of as an online diary, open to the public, and onto which an author can write on any topic they choose and to which anyone who reads the post can, in turn, reply. These blogs typically focus on a particular topic such as politics or sports and there are blogs on virtually every topic imaginable. Taken altogether, these blogs are referred to as the “blogosphere.”

With all of the attention that this form of human endeavor engenders and the emotion that it evokes, sports are a common topic in the blogosphere. As one might expect, the blogging commentary related to sports can be both positive and negative. Frequently the authors of blogs do not have the professional or academic preparation to speak knowingly about which they write. The unfortunate thing about blog posts that are inaccurate is that they often carry more weight than they deserve. Illustrious of this situation is the phrase, “it must be true, I read it on the Internet”. The Academy is seeking to address this situation in some small measure through its decision to change one of our online publications, The Sport Digest, into a blog. Through this effort, Academy faculty and other well regarded individuals in the profession generate articles on a host of issues surrounding the sport profession. These posts have a basis in fact or are otherwise well-reasoned and as is the case with other blogs, afford the readers an opportunity to respond to the issues.

### Web 3.0 – The Semantic Web

While the term Web 2.0 has entered the lexicon, Web 3.0 will be the next step in the evolution of the Internet. A common, agreed upon definition for Web 3.0 has yet to emerge but a consensus is building that it will be a combination of technology through which the entire web is turned into a database combined with the marshaling of human resources. New computer languages such as HTML5 will allow computers to read online content and so will facilitate the identification and indexing of the web, a process that will make content more accessible.

Beyond the changes in technology, renowned web futurist Clay Shirky argues that for the first time in history the web has provided the tools to harness society’s “cognitive surplus.” Essentially, the cognitive surplus is derived from the trillions of hours of free time that the residents of the developed world enjoy and that has steadily increased since World War II. Increases in gross domestic product, education and life span have provided riches of free time but that prior to the Internet was squandered in non-productive pursuits. The Internet democratized the tools of production and distribution and the Internet made the benefits scalable: value comes from the combined cognitive surplus of millions of individuals connected to a network that allows collaboration. (1)

Shirky is an example of this dynamic at work. In the course of researching this paper, the author continuously came across references to Shirky and his theories of cognitive surplus. As more authors agreed with the concept than those that did not, it suggests that these theories are gaining traction and apparently have some merit. Through this process of review and debate, concepts and theory are continually refined adding to the body of knowledge through which the human condition can be enriched.

### Challenges

With all of its potential to elevate human discourse and to assist in the dissemination of human ideals, many challenges remain. This can fall into three broad areas as follows:

The first is economic. There exists in a very real sense a digital divide in which a vast proportion of the worlds’ population remains without access to computers or the Internet. In many respects, the Internet still remains a world of the “haves and have nots.” In some respects we have almost come full circle to the human condition of when Olympic movement first began in the late 19th century in which access to information was the domain of the privileged few. This fact has been recognized and there are efforts to address this imbalance through the production of low cost machines to allow the underserved populations without the necessary economic resources to gain access to the Internet.

A looming issue is a social one. Governments all over the world took note at the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia and the events in Tahrir Square in Egypt and the role that Web 2.0 applications played in mobilizing the population to overthrow the political establishment. In the most populous country of the world, the two most globally accessed websites everyday cannot be reached at all. So in a very real sense, we could be headed to a world of two Internets; one in which the flow of information is free and unfettered, and another where access to information resources are tightly controlled or restricted to what the government believes to be “politically acceptable.” (7) In the West, the Internet has played a role in self-censorship resulting in societal fragmentation and polarization insofar as people have a tendency to seek out and read only that information that reinforces their points of view. If the ability to share information is deemed to be strength, impediments to the free flow of information can only be deemed to be a detriment in a future of shared human values.

The last issue is technical. Computers as we know them, those bulky desktop machines and even portable laptops, are going away. What is going to occur in the future, will be a proliferation of smaller devices such as tablet computers, IPhones, and Androids that provide access to the Internet, but where the information that they generate is stored on the Internet itself (also called the cloud). However, all of these devices require wireless connectivity and the amount of electromagnetic spectrum through which these connections are made is a finite resource. In June 2009, the U.S. Government took back that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum through which analog television signals were broadcast. This spectrum was subsequently auctioned off to telecommunication providers and others such as Google; but the fact remains that in the not-too-distant future this bandwidth will also be exhausted. All of this is setting the stage for a time in which data consumption will be metered as is any other utility and subject to the laws of supply and demand (3). Thus, if the digital divide was created by economic conditions, the situation can be exacerbated by “metered Internet access.”

The solution will be found both in the technical, such as content providers better streamlining their services, or through the creation of better means by which access is gained such as twisting the wireless signals.

### Conclusion

Information technology has unquestionably changed human society in ways that can scarcely be imagined. From early experiments in the 1960’s to today, the Internet, as embodied in the web, has over 171 million web hosts. Assuming an average 100 pages on a given website (the Academy website has more than 800 pages) would yield an estimated 17.1 billion pages of web content, the vast majority of which can be accessed by anyone. Research shows that the Internet, excluding the deep web, is growing by more than 10 million new static pages every day. (6) Thus, the Internet spans virtually the entire gamut of the human existence and can be a powerful medium for the conveying of humanistic ideas. It has provided a vehicle that can educate and entertain us and can serve to make society more cohesive. In so doing, it has created an environment for public discussion unequaled in human history but at the same time, it can also serve to isolate us from each other. People can immerse themselves in an environment where the virtual becomes reality and normal communication with others slowly becomes lost. In any case, the evolution of the Internet has brought about a democratization of media content and has created an environment in which all can participate. It is, as the title a popular novel suggests, “A Brave New World.”

### References

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8. Slashdot. (2011). Spam Drops 1/3 After Rustock Botnet Gets Crushed. Slashdot IT Blog. <http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/03/29/1516241/Spam-Drops-13-After-Rustock-Botnet-Gets-Crushed>. (29 March, 2011).

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