WOA President updates IOC President on WOA progress and global promotion of Olympism

26 | 9 | 2014

International Olympic Committee [IOC] President, Thomas Bach, and World Olympians Association [WOA] President, Joël Bouzou, have met at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, with President Bouzou updating President Bach on the ongoing progress of the WOA. The two also discussed how to deepen the strong working relationship between the two organisations and further boost the Olympic Movement’s ability to promote Olympism in the global community.

The IOC and WOA will continue to look at how to establish a more integrated approach to spreading the spirit and practice of Olympism involving more of the WOA’s Olympian members in programmes that make a positive impact on society.

As a first step, the WOA has been invited to make additional submissions to the ongoing IOC Agenda 2020 debate and in particular the Olympism in Action Working Group. The IOC and the WOA will then jointly look at ways of integrating their work for the benefit of Olympians of all ages and all countries around the world.

WOA President, Joël Bouzou, said: "The IOC has always been a huge supporter of the World Olympians Association from the time the organisation was first founded. Without the IOC's financial and practical annual investment the WOA would not have been able to establish a strong base for providing the services and benefits for Olympians. We already have an excellent relationship with the IOC and are looking forward to working even closer to achieve our shared goals."

IOC President, Thomas Bach, said: "The WOA has made significant progress and has the potential for an important role in the Olympic family. Olympians are at the heart of what the IOC does. A strong, vibrant WOA will help ensure that our Olympians are looked after and that they are able to contribute to our global programmes."

The IOC Agenda 2020 process will culminate in discussions and decisions at the Extraordinary IOC Session in Monte Carlo in December. In order to maximise the opportunity to reflect the outcomes of this process and as a result of their discussion, Joël Bouzou has confirmed that the inaugural World Olympians Forum will now take place in the first quarter of 2015. This will allow the Forum to review, consider and act upon the outcomes from the IOC Extraordinary Session.

The two presidents also discussed planning for the Olympians Reunion Centre in Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games and the WOA plans to complete planning for this important facility by the end of this year.