34OLYMPIC REVIEWOLYMPIC REVIEWTAKES A LOOKAT HOW INNSBRUCK 2012'S DYNAMICCULTURE AND EDUCATIONPROGRAMME (CEP) IS TAKING SHAPECULTURECLUB

OLYMPIC REVIEW35s well as being a world-class sportingevent, the Winter Youth Olympic Gameswill also feature a unique Culture andEducation Programme (CEP) that willoffer the young athletes who gather in Innsbrucknext January the chance to learn more about theOlympic Movement and the world around them. When creating the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), theIOC's vision was to balance the sporting element ofthe event with a programme that would allow youngathletes from all over the world to experience culturaland educational activities that would engage them in a fun way. Following the success of the CEP at theinaugural YOG in Singapore last year, Innsbruck 2012will now continue the legacy by providing an innovativeCEP programme at next year's first ever Winter YOG.Gian-Franco Kasper, Chairman of the IOCCoordination Committee for the 1st Winter YouthOlympic Games, has been impressed by the plans putin place for Innsbruck 2012."The CEP will be fun, interactive and, we hope, willrespond to athletes' expectations," he explains. "Theparticipants will be given the tools to not only grow asan athlete, but also as a true ambassador of sports in their society."This multi-faceted programme will be made up ofa wide range of activities based around six separateformats: Media Lab, World Mile, Sustainability, Arts,Competence and Youth Festival. The Media Labprogramme will give athletes hands-on experience ofgenerating media content using four distinctmediums -Video & TV, Radio & Music, DigitalPhotography and the Web - and will also help themlearn how to act when they are in front of the camera.The World Mile section of the CEP will see localschools in Innsbruck pairing up with classes fromother countries in a cultural exchange project, while the Sustainability programme will includevarious excursions in the local area that will enableathletes to learn about environmentalism andsustainable development. These so-called 'ExplorationJourneys' will give the participants the chance toexplore the natural environment around Innsbruck and educate them about how to live hand-in-handwith nature in such a fragile alpine location.The Arts programme, meanwhile, will see athleteslearning about the cultural differences that existbetween the participating nations by experiencingtraditional dances and music from each of the 70countries. Athletes will also get the chance to learnfrom role models, all Olympians. This will help prepareathletes for the future lives by informing them abouttopics such as healthy living and achieving a balancebetween training and education.As well as educating athletes about theseimportant topics, the CEP is also about having fun -and the Youth Festival will be an integral part of that.Through a variety of concerts and team-buildingexercises, like igloo building, athletes will be able toget to know each other and make new friends from allover the world, while sport initiations will allow them to try other disciplines that they may not haveexperienced before. Involving the public - and inparticular the local youth - will also be an integral partof the CEP at Innsbruck 2012, and many activities willbe open to local youngsters meaning that, via theirschools, young people from Austria will also get to takepart. Some elements will be exclusively for athletes butthe parts that include art, music, culture and dance,will allow teenagers from across the country toparticipate and experience it together.With so many exciting activities for the athletesand local youth to get involved in, the CEP forInnsbruck 2012 is already looking like it will continuein the same exciting and impressive vein that wasestablished at Singapore 2010. nALeftThe Media Lab includes radio and music aspart of its programme, combining fun and learning "THE CEP WILL BE FUN, INTERACTIVE AND, WE HOPE,WILL RESPOND TO ATHLETES'EXPECTATIONS. THE PARTICI-PANTS WILL BE GIVEN THETOOLS TO NOT ONLY GROW AS AN ATHLETE, BUT ALSO AS A TRUE AMBASSADOR OFSPORTS IN THEIR SOCIETY"