WOA President praises strong NOA-NOC collaboration at Polish Presidential Palace

4 | 10 | 2018

World Olympians Association President Joël Bouzou OLY has welcomed the positive climate of collaboration among National Olympians Associations (NOAs) and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in Eastern Europe following an invitation to attend the Symposium of the National Associations of Olympians of the Three Seas Initiative in Warsaw, Poland alongside WOA Vice President, Alper Kasapoglu OLY.

During the event President Bouzou had the honour of addressing the Symposium from the Presidential Palace in the presence of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda and Polish Olympic Committee President Andrzej KrasnIcki. 

One of the high points was the presentation of an OLY pin to Polish NOA President Mieczyslaw Nowicki, in front of President Duda, highlighting the importance and the social recognition of Olympians.

The event brought together the National Olympians Association of Poland and neighbouring NOAs from Lithuania, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic to reinforce regional relationships and strengthen partnerships. The theme of cooperation was further underpinned by the excellent collaboration between the Polish NOA and NOC in hosting the event.

“It gave me great pride to see NOAs, each with their own rich Olympic history, bound by a profound belief in the Olympic spirit and a shared desire to create a better future, contributing ideas and working collectively,” said Joël Bouzou OLY.

“By adopting a more collaborative approach, alongside NOCs and Athletes Commissions, I have no doubt we can better support, inspire and empower Olympians to continue to achieve their potential long after they have finished competing in elite sport.

“I would like to thank Mieczyslaw and our wonderful hosts the Polish Olympians Society, the Polish Olympic Committee and the Government of Poland for staging such a special event,” he concluded.

In his speech President Bouzou also emphasised how WOA initiatives are helping to unify Olympians around the world. Over 10,000 Olympians have so far signed up for exclusive OLY post-nominal letters, which recognises the hard work, dedication and perseverance it takes to compete on sport’s greatest stage. WOA is also targeting 10,000 Olympians to take part in the groundbreaking Olympian Health Study – the largest-ever global study into the long-term health of Olympians.

All NOAs were encouraged to continue to promote and share these programmes with their membership. You can find more details on www.olympians.org.