10 Jan 2018

Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) president, Colonel Botsang Tshenyego has encouraged participants of the Olympic Values Educational Programme to assist in spreading the knowledge they acquired through their training to their respective communities.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of a three-day workshop on January 8, Tshenyego congratulated the participants for being selected to pioneer the programme, saying it was an opportunity for them to grow as leaders and community mobilisers.

He said the participants were chosen primarily because of their vocation as teachers, who deal with learners everyday and because they were active members of communities they live in.

“As teachers, you have the power to influence, to build and encourage your students and community members to become better citizens and there is no better way to do that than involvement in sport, guided by the Olympic values,” he said.

He noted that Olympic values were universal and thus did not only apply in sport, but to life in general; and they complement well the education quest for youth character building in schools. 

The Olympic Values Educational Programme is the first ever training in Botswana that focused on what the values mean and how they are applied in the sports community and beyond.

Professor Christo De Coning, an educator at Foundation of Sports, Development and Peace (International Olympic Committee) said the training covered topics such as Olympism and Olympic Movement, Olympic Values, Values and Universal Values during the workshop.

For her part, Oreeditse Marakakgoro, representing the participants, said they were grateful to BNOC for giving them an opportunity to learn about the Olympic values.

She said it was upon them to help the committee to share the Olympic values with their schools, coaches and respective members of their communities.

The participants were awarded Olympic pins to show that they had taken responsibility to share relevant and valuable information about the importance of Olympic sports in Botswana. ENDS