13th Olympic Congress
Encyclopedia
The 13th Olympic Congress
was held on 3-5 October, 2009 in Copenhagen
, Denmark, by the International Olympic Committee
(IOC). The city of Copenhagen was chosen in 8 February by the 118th IOC Session held in Turin
, Italy to stage the 13th Olympic Congress, together with the meetings of the Executive Board and the 121st IOC Session
. The other candidates were Athens
(Greece
), Busan
(South Korea
), Cairo
(Egypt
), Riga
(Latvia
), Singapore
(Singapore
), and Taipei
(Chinese Taipei
). Convened on the initiative of President Jacques Rogge
, the 13th Olympic Congress will bring together all the constituent parties of the Olympic Movement to study and discuss the current functioning of the Movement and define the main development axes for the future. "This will be an important milestone and a chance for the entire Olympic family to discuss and debate some major issues around the role of the Olympic Movement in society. How can we use digital technologies to communicate the values of Olympism? How do we better connect with young people? What can we all do to encourage people to lead active, healthy lifestyles? These are just some of the questions we will grapple with at the Congress. Getting at some answers won't be easy, but is very necessary." said Jacques Rogge. President Rogge underlined in his short address the role sport and the Olympic Movement play in society. "Sport has played, plays and will always play, an important role worldwide." According to Rogge, the IOC and all other members of the Olympic Movement will seize the opportunity of the 13th Congress in Copenhagen to demonstrate what has already been achieved in this field, that the Movement is committed to fully playing its role and that it is taking up every challenge in order to set the bar even higher.
The 13th Olympic Congress was held from 3 to 5 October 2009 in the Danish capital. It will bring together around 1,000 participants representing: IOC members; IOC honorary and honour members; representatives of the International Federations, National Olympic Committees, the athletes and Organising Committees for the Olympic Games; athletes and athlete support staff (coaches, doctors and medical staff); referees, judges and technical officials; the IOC’s Olympic partners; and the media. The various stages of the Olympic Congress run from 1 July 2007 until the end of 2009. The meetings in Copenhagen will mark the culmination of this process. But even then, the work will not be finished, as the next task will be to implement the main Congress recommendations that the Session has accepted. The first meeting of the 2009 Congress Commission, which is chaired by President Rogge, and includes the entire membership of the EB, met for the first time this morning to start the process that will lead to the 13th Olympic Congress in Copenhagen in October 2009. The 13th Olympic Congress will include a public consultation for the first time in the history of Olympic congresses. The Chairman of the Congress Organising Committee and President of the National Olympic Committee of Denmark, IOC member Kai Holm, is convinced that the Olympic Congress will strengthen Denmark's ties with the sports world, especially the various International Federations and the National Olympic Committees around the world. "Such an opening allows us to exchange points of view, learn from each other and establish contacts which will be valuable for years to come", he believes.
Olympic Congress
An Olympic Congress is a large gathering of representatives from the different constituencies of the Olympic Movement, organised by the International Olympic Committee . As detailed in chapter 1, rule 4 of the Olympic Charter, the IOC President is responsible for convening a Congress, presiding...
was held on 3-5 October, 2009 in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark, by the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC). The city of Copenhagen was chosen in 8 February by the 118th IOC Session held in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy to stage the 13th Olympic Congress, together with the meetings of the Executive Board and the 121st IOC Session
121st International Olympic Committee Session
The 121st International Olympic Committee Session was held on October 1–9, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, during which Rio de Janeiro was selected as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics...
. The other candidates were Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
(Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
), Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
(South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
), Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
(Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
), Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
(Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
), Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
(Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
), and Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
(Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei is the designated name used by the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, to participate in some international organizations and almost all sporting events, such as the Olympics, Paralympics, Asian Games and Asian Para Games...
). Convened on the initiative of President Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge , is a Belgian sports bureaucrat. He is the eighth and current President of the International Olympic Committee .-Life and career:...
, the 13th Olympic Congress will bring together all the constituent parties of the Olympic Movement to study and discuss the current functioning of the Movement and define the main development axes for the future. "This will be an important milestone and a chance for the entire Olympic family to discuss and debate some major issues around the role of the Olympic Movement in society. How can we use digital technologies to communicate the values of Olympism? How do we better connect with young people? What can we all do to encourage people to lead active, healthy lifestyles? These are just some of the questions we will grapple with at the Congress. Getting at some answers won't be easy, but is very necessary." said Jacques Rogge. President Rogge underlined in his short address the role sport and the Olympic Movement play in society. "Sport has played, plays and will always play, an important role worldwide." According to Rogge, the IOC and all other members of the Olympic Movement will seize the opportunity of the 13th Congress in Copenhagen to demonstrate what has already been achieved in this field, that the Movement is committed to fully playing its role and that it is taking up every challenge in order to set the bar even higher.
The 13th Olympic Congress was held from 3 to 5 October 2009 in the Danish capital. It will bring together around 1,000 participants representing: IOC members; IOC honorary and honour members; representatives of the International Federations, National Olympic Committees, the athletes and Organising Committees for the Olympic Games; athletes and athlete support staff (coaches, doctors and medical staff); referees, judges and technical officials; the IOC’s Olympic partners; and the media. The various stages of the Olympic Congress run from 1 July 2007 until the end of 2009. The meetings in Copenhagen will mark the culmination of this process. But even then, the work will not be finished, as the next task will be to implement the main Congress recommendations that the Session has accepted. The first meeting of the 2009 Congress Commission, which is chaired by President Rogge, and includes the entire membership of the EB, met for the first time this morning to start the process that will lead to the 13th Olympic Congress in Copenhagen in October 2009. The 13th Olympic Congress will include a public consultation for the first time in the history of Olympic congresses. The Chairman of the Congress Organising Committee and President of the National Olympic Committee of Denmark, IOC member Kai Holm, is convinced that the Olympic Congress will strengthen Denmark's ties with the sports world, especially the various International Federations and the National Olympic Committees around the world. "Such an opening allows us to exchange points of view, learn from each other and establish contacts which will be valuable for years to come", he believes.