OLYMPIC REVIEW19Canadian NOC Holdssport summitThe Canadian NOC, inpartnership with SportCanada, recently held its first National SportFederation LeadershipSummit in Ottawa. Theevent brought together52 of the NOC's member organisationswith a view to building a strong relationship andsense of communitybetween the variousgroups; fosteringdialogue andunderstanding betweenthe federation leaders;and identifying tools andpractices to help build ahigh-quality roadmap forCanadian sport.London 1948Olympians to attend2012 GamesThe British OlympicAssociation (BOA) is tooffer British Olympianswho took part in the1948 Games in Londonfree ticketsto the 2012Olympic Games. TheBOA is also planning tohost a series of eventsto recognise the uniqueconnection between theathletes of 1948 andthose of 2012.Thesewill include a tour of theOlympic Village, lunch atTeam GB Houseand, forsome, a chance to takepart in the Olympictorch relay.The IOC has welcomed the progress being madeon sport-related issues between the NationalOlympic Committees (NOCs) of Israel and Palestine,following the second joint meeting between thetwo, held in May at IOC headquarters in Lausanne.An analysis was made on the issue of freemovement of Palestinian athletes. Measures forthe development of Palestinian and Israeli sport,including cooperation between the two NOCs,were outlined. Participation by both NOCs in theMediterranean Games was also discussed. The talks focused on an assessment of thetravel difficulties currently encountered byPalestinian athletes, coaches and officials, andboth parties again stated their support for theprinciple of free movement of athletes. The IsraeliNOC will present Palestinian plans for amechanism to facilitate the movement of athletesin the region to the government of Israel, takinginto account the security issues in the region. Inthe short term, both parties also agreed to thesetting up of a "hotline" between the two NOCs todeal with issues as they arise and to improvecommunication.Since the first meeting in January, expertsmandated by the IOC travelled to Palestine to drawup a long-term sports development strategy withthe Palestine Olympic Committee (POC) andrelevant authorities. The IOC provided thePalestinian delegation with a comprehensive reportthat should serve as a basis for the developmentof sport and sports infrastructure in Palestine -and the IOC and OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) willjointly provide initial funding towards the project.The IOC and Olympic Solidarity will continue towork closely with the POC so it can benefit from a range of development and assistanceprogrammes. Particular emphasis will be placedon assisting athletes aiming to take part in theLondon 2012 Olympic Games. During themeeting, the NOCs also agreed to cooperate oncoaching and other practical support for athletes. "The IOC has an obligation to supportmeasures to protect athletes and to use sport as a tool for peace and development," said IOCPresident Rogge. "We are encouraged by the frankand friendly discussions between the two NOCs,and will continue to work with them to ensure thatfurther progress on sport-related issues is made." BelowMembers of Israel's and Palestine's Olympic Committees met with the IOC in MayIOCHOSTSSECONDMEETINGBETWEENISRAELANDPALESTINEOLYMPICCOMMITTEESSLOVAKIAN NOCHOSTS INTERNATIONALYOUTH CAMPSPAIN ANNOUNC ES22NDOLYMPICSTUDYCENTREThe Slovak Olympic Committee recently organisedan International Youth Camp for young people agedbetween 15 and 18, which was supported by theIOC Olympic Solidarity programme. The camp, heldin the Tatra Mountains from 5-10 July, welcomedyoung people from Slovakia, the Czech Republic,Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia with the motto "WeAll Have a Common Dream" and was inspired bythe Culture and Education Programme (CEP) of theYouth Olympic Games. Participants werenominated to take part by their respective NationalOlympic Committees (NOCs), with activitiesincluding rafting, hiking and swimming as well asmedia workshops, lectures about the ancientOlympic Games and innovative "fair play" games.The camp also featured opening and closingceremonies and prize giving ceremonies, and sawyoung people from different countries workingalongside each other on the same team. BelowThe camp encouraged young people fromdifferent countries to work together in teamsOn 25 May, the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE)and the University of Navarra signed an agreementto create an Olympic Studies Centre. Present forthe signing ceremony were COE PresidentAlejandro Blanco, Spanish Olympic AcademyPresident Conrado Durántez and Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero, Vice-Rector for International Relationsof the Academic Centre. This brings the number of Olympic Studies Centres in Spain to 22. Findout more on www.coe.esNEWS INBRIEF

Japan and Bhutan NOCSsign partnershipThe Japanese OlympicCommittee (JOC)recently signed apartnership agreementwith the Bhutan NOCwhich focuses onathlete and coachexchanges and training,as well as sharingexperiences in the fieldof medical science. It also provides for long-term cooperationfor developing andpromoting sportsactivities and theOlympic Movement inBhutan and Japan. It is the first partnershipagreement with other NOCs for theBhutan NOC and the28th for the Japanese NOC.Pupils visited by formerOlympiansThe Dutch NOC hasfacilitated a series oftalks at primary schoolsby former Olympians,who spoke about theirOlympic experiences,while children listed theirfavourite activities andachievements, and builta "wall of fame". Inaddition, 5,000 pupilsfrom 170 schools tookpart in "MissionOlympic",a nationalcompetition celebratingthe Olympic values. Seewww.nocnsf.nl for more.The IOC Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) has launchedthe 2012 Postgraduate Research Grant Programme,intended for young researchers engaged in scholarlyresearch on the Olympic Movement, its history andideals, and the impact of the Olympic Games on thevarious aspects of contemporary society and culture.The main objectives of this programme are toencourage young researchers to undertake researchwith a humanities or social sciences perspective on the Olympic Games; to promote the written andaudiovisual IOC patrimony consultation; and toencourage networking and sharing of informationbetween young researchers from differentdisciplines and cultures. All current postgraduatestudents undertaking a PhD degree and alluniversity professors/lecturers who have completedtheir doctorate or equivalent degree in the past fiveyears and who currently hold an academicappointment are eligible to apply.The Grant Programme Selection Committee iscomposed of experts who are world-renowned fortheir involvement in Olympic studies, and the OSCofficers and professionals. For more information:olympic.org/olympic-studies-centreThe World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) hassigned a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)with the World Customs Organisations (WCO),which will give a significant boost to the fightagainst doping in sport. Signed in the WCO's offices in Brussels (Belgium)on 24 June, this MoU will foster cooperation inactivities of common interest in the areas of anti-doping and trafficking of doping substanceswithin the organisations' respective mandates.OSCLAUNCHES 2012 POSTGRADUATERESEARCHGRANTPROGRAMMEWADASTEPSUPFIGHTAGAINSTDOPINGSERBIAN NOCUNVEILS TEAMMASCOTCOLOMBIANNOCMARKS 75THANNIVERSARYThe Serbian NOC has unveiled an official teammascot for the London 2012 Olympic Games. It will be the first mascot in the team's historyand will help mark the centenary of Serbia's firstparticipation in the Olympic Games, in 1912. The mascot, a baby griffon vulture, was chosenthrough a public competition organised by theSerbian NOC and was created by IvanArandjelovi´c, a young designer from Belgrade.The mascot's name, "Sre´cko" ("Lucky"), waschosen by the public in an online poll. BelowSre´cko will support Serbia's Olympiansat the London 2012 Olympic GamesThe Colombian NOC marked its 75th anniversaryin June with a variety of academic, cultural andsporting activities. These included a meeting onwomen and sport in Cali, the InternationalCongress on Science in Sport in Bogotá, and thecelebration of sport. The Colombian NOCheadquarters also recently hosted a meeting onanti-doping policy led by Jorge Alarcón, Directorof the Doping Office of the Biomedical Centre inColdeportes. The agenda included procedures fortesting athletes and the legal aspects of theseprocedures. The participants included all theNOC's technical staff.In collaboration with the UNICEF office in Albania,the Albanian NOC recently implemented a "sportfor development" project in the Lezha DistrictMunicipality of Balldren. The event broughttogether around 400 students and includedvolleyball, basketball, football, gymnastics andathletics competitions, as well as educational andartistic activities, presentations by the AlbanianRed Cross, and Olympic-themed quizzes. Eachparticipant went away with a diploma. In addition,the Chamber of Commerce and Industry ofAlbania organised the "Children's Fair 2011" inwhich the Albanian NOC took part with apromotional stand. This stand comprised fivesections: Summer and Winter Youth OlympicGames; Olympic education in schools; OlympicDay; sport as a tool for development andeducation; and the London 2012 Olympic Games.Various materials and publications for childrenwere distributed during the three-day fair.ALBANIANNOCIMPLEMENTS SPORT FORDEVELOPMENTPROJECTNEWS INBRIEF20OLYMPIC REVIEW