National Olympic Committee of Argentina

Argentinian Olympic Academy

The Argentinian Olympic Academy, founded in 1982, is a commission of the Argentinian Olympic Committee which organizes annual Youth Gatherings attended by representatives of various national federations from different parts of the country.

In 2012, the gathering took place from the 22^nd to the 27^th of October and hosted as guests Dr. Conrado Durantez Corral, honorary president of the Argentinian Olympic Academy, and Prof. Konstantinos Georgiadis, dean of the International Olympic Academy, distinguished speakers renowned for their dissemination of Olympic values.  

In 2012, to commemorate thirty years since the creation of the Argentinian Olympic Academy, a special gathering was held on October 26^th and 27^th, to which all participants in the Youth Gathering were invited. One hundred and eighty people shared accommodations and got an opportunity to hear distinguished speakers in a friendly atmosphere that enhanced social interaction: not only conferences but also group activities and a fraternal dinner.

In 2013, the gathering was held from 15 through 19 October and hosted special guests Prof. Otto Schantz, member of the Pierre de Coubertin International Committee, distinguished and renowned speaker and researcher on the life of the patron of the Olympic Games in the modern era.  

To honour the 150^th anniversary of Pierre de Coubertin’s birth, besides the usual, essential conferences such as Philosophy, Symbols, Mission, Values of the Olympic Movement, Doping, etc., the program put special emphasis on the work and legacy of Pierre de Coubertin.

The Olympic Education Program, moreover, which depends on the Argentinian Olympic Academy, has continued to offer training courses in Olympism. Between 2011 and 2013, sixteen courses were taught in the province of Entre Ríos. Six hundred and eighty Physical Education teachers and five hundred and forty Physical Education students completed the courses, the latter as part of the Olympic Education subject. At the same time, the educational material relating to Olympism was updated after the London and Sochi Olympic Games, and work is underway on a new publication on the subject of Physical Education.

Since Buenos Aires was elected to host the third Youth Olympic Games in 2018, the Argentinian Olympic Academy, together with the Olympic Education Program, has been planning training sessions and activities to be carried out in the city.

On August 12^th 2013, the Argentinian Olympic Committee, represented by the Argentinian Olympic Academy President, Mario Moccia, and the University of Tucuman signed a Framework Agreement of Cooperation and Exchange as well as a Protocol of Agreement by which both parties commit to working together to promote education and to disseminate Olympism and its values.

This important agreement spurred the creation of the first Center for Olympic Studies (CEO) in the country.

The CEO’s objectives, among others, are to:

• Promote actions related to research, analysis, creation of content and production of knowledge.
• Provide access to documents and audiovisual resources related to Olympism.
• Facilitate academic activities related to Olympism and stimulate synergies and collaboration between centers for Olympic studies, researchers, faculty and specialists.
• Promote Olympic education in schools.
• Promote the social dissemination of Olympism and all its precepts.

In 2014, besides the annual Youth Gathering to be held in October, the Argentinian Olympic Academy is organizing the third Itinerant Olympic Academy Meeting, aimed at people between 35 and 65 years old, active in sports and education in every field related to disseminating the Olympic philosophy and who have not been able to attend the Youth Gathering. This Meeting is biennial and provides yet another successful base from which to disseminate Olympic values.

Olympic education and the dissemination of the values of the Olympic Movement have become pillars for the management of the Argentinian Olympic Committee, and from the Olympic Academic we advocate them both with commitment and passion.

Link: http://www.anocolympic.org/wp-content/uploads/nocs-media/1499855283_42-educacion-olimpica