ACOLOP
Encyclopedia
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. It was founded by the national Olympic committees
National Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
(NOCs) of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
(Chinese SAR
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
), Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
; it also includes Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
as an associate member. On April 2006, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(represented by the Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
Olympic Association) and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
were admitted also as associate members, based on their common historical past with Portugal.
The Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
-speaking countries are spread through four continents and reach a total population of about 250 million people. Portuguese thus occupies a place among the most spoken languages in the world. The purpose of reinforcing the bonds between these nations and promoting unity and cooperation through sport was the main reason for ACOLOP's creation.
Goals and projects
The goals which guide this organisation are:- The spreading of the Olympic idealsOlympic CharterThe Olympic Charter, last updated March 21, 1992, is a set of rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic Movement. Adopted by International Olympic Committee , it is the codification of the Fundamental Principles, Rules and By-laws. French and...
on every member country and territory; - Equality, mutual respect and interest convergence-based cooperation between every member country and territory;
- Cooperation of every member country and territory on the definition of objectives, data exchange and common interests defense;
- Development of Olympic solidarity programs with the International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic CommitteeThe 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) support; - Cooperation on an Olympic GamesOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
mission-chief level; - Joint-bids for places on the International Olympic Movement structure;
- Staging of the ACOLOP Games (Lusophony GamesLusophony GamesThe Lusophony Games is a multinational multi-sport event organized by the ACOLOP, which involves athletes coming from Lusophone countries, namely those belonging to the CPLP , but also others where there are significant Portuguese communities or that have a common past with Portugal.Participating...
).
At the 8th general assembly, in Macau (February 2, 2007), the president Manuel Silvério stated the intention of campaigning for the elevation of Portuguese language to official status inside the IOC and Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa
Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa
The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa is an international organization that unites the 53 National Olympic Committees of Africa...
(ANOCA) structures. On the agenda is also the creation of a "Lusophone Olympic Academy", institution of a "International Lusophony Day", promotion of an annual football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
tournament and also an annual sporting awards gala.
On June 8, 2007, precisely three years after the creation of the ACOLOP, the organization's new official portal was launched. Its servers are located on the organization's headquarters in Macau. This portal was established with the purpose of strengthening the communication between the Lusophone world and the ACOLOP. It serves also as a platform to display all news and activities concerning all member associations, especially those that do not have a portal.
Members
Organization structure
The first board was assigned during ACOLOP's creation on June 8, 2004. From January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009, a new board will be led by Manuel Silvério, as result of elections carried on October 12, 2006. This board's official inauguration will take place in Macau, on 4 February 2007, site of the ACOLOP's headquarters. As José Vicente de MouraJosé Vicente de Moura
José Vicente de Moura is the current president of the Olympic Committee of Portugal since 1997. This is his second term on this office, as he also held this position from 1990 to 1992. He was Portugal's chief of mission at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States, where this nation...
, the 2009 Lusophony Games organizing committee president, is also ACOLOP's honorary president, the vice-president (coming from the Olympic Committee of Portugal
Olympic Committee of Portugal
The Olympic Committee of Portugal is a non-profit organisation of public utility, which serves as the National Olympic Committee for Portugal. It was founded on October 26, 1909, to ensure a timely, methodical and state-sponsored participation at the Games of the V Olympiad, in Stockholm...
) is Manuel Marques da Silva.
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Honorary President (2006–)
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See also
- Lusophony GamesLusophony GamesThe Lusophony Games is a multinational multi-sport event organized by the ACOLOP, which involves athletes coming from Lusophone countries, namely those belonging to the CPLP , but also others where there are significant Portuguese communities or that have a common past with Portugal.Participating...
- CPLP GamesCPLP GamesThe CPLP Games is a multinational multi-sport event organized by the CPLP, which involves athletes coming from Lusophone countries belonging to the CPLP that are less than 16 years old....
- Macau 2006 Lusophony Games2006 Lusophony GamesThe 1st Lusophony Games were held in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China between 7 and 15 October 2006...
- Lisbon 2009 Lusophony Games2009 Lusophony GamesThe 2009 Lusophony Games was the 2nd Lusophony Games , a multi-sport event for delegations representing Portuguese-speaking National Olympic committees.It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 11 to 19 July 2009...
- Goa 2013 Lusophony Games2013 Lusophony GamesThe 2013 Lusophony Games will be the 3rd edition of the Lusophony Games , a multi-sport event for delegations representing every Portuguese-speaking national Olympic committees. It will be hosted in Goa, India...