The International Olympic Committee has appointed Beyond Sport to support the IOC Sport for All Commission throughout the build-up to the 15th IOC World Conference on Sport for All, to be held in Lima, Peru in April 2013.
The IOC Sport for All Commission was established in 1983 with the primary aim of encouraging and supporting efforts to disseminate the health and social benefits of sport.
Beyond Sport will be supporting the development of the event delivery and will use its extensive network and knowledge of programmes from around the world to assist the commission in selecting the recipients of the Sport for All Grants.
The two bodies have already worked together ahead of the first such awarding of grants, announced at the 14th IOC World Conference on Sport for All in Beijing in 2011.
Sam Ramsamy, chairman of the IOC Sport for All Commission, says: “Sport for All is at the heart of the Olympic Movement and closely linked to development through sport.
“It really touches society at large.
“The expertise of Beyond Sport in this area increases the impact of the conference and future initiatives.”
Beyond Sport is uniquely positioned to be able to provide such a service to the IOC.
The organisation is the central point for a network that now reaches 135 countries across the globe and has conducted extensive due diligence on dozens of programmes using sport as a tool to tackle social issues including health, unemployment, conflict resolution, gang related violence and education.
Nick Keller, founder of Beyond Sport, says: “Beyond Sport’s values and objectives have, since our foundation, been similar to the values and objectives of the International Olympic Committee and Olympic Movement as whole.
“Sport can and does play a transformative role in communities around the world.
“The IOC occupies a unique place both within and beyond sport and the potential impact of Sport for All’s mission is unprecedented in this field.”
