Brussels, 13/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner Viviane Reding and the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, will be signing a cooperation agreement in Brussels on Friday on "Sport, Schools and Olympic Values in Europe". The agreement sets up a consultative committee which will monitor three pilot projects launched by the IOC and the Sports Ministries of France, the Netherlands and Italy in 2002, and get ready to launch such projects EU-wide in 2003-2004.
The projects are aimed at 10-14 year olds, and will cover around 500 classes of schoolchildren in France, 500 in Italy and almost 35,000 pupils in the Netherlands. They will aim to teach children about concepts like fair play, the dangers of doping and establishing a dialogue between different cultures through the medium of sport. The planned activities include publishing educational material on the history and values of the Olympics, setting up an internet site to enable children to discuss issues with athletes and the organisation of Olympics Days or Weeks incorporating a range of educational and para-educational activities. Around EUR 750,000 has been earmarked in 2001 and 2002 for this programme, 26% of it provided by the European Commission and the remainder by the IOC.