International Inspiration is the international legacy programme of London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Its objective to provide high-quality and inclusive PE and sport for young people in 20 developing countries across the world through and beyond 2012.

Under International Inspiration,  a three-day Youth and Sports Conference was held from 19 to 31 January which aimed to identify and address the main challenges facing young people in Egypt today, and to begin a real dialogue in order to address the issues and to reach realistic solutions. Challenges such as limited resources, lack of interest and few opportunities all conspire to make raising the profile and highlighting the benefits of participation in sports difficult.

Over the three days, there were many opportunities for people associated with Physical Education and sports in Egypt to have their opinions and voices heard, with the hope of making real, sustainable change.

This gave policy makers a great deal to discuss. The members of the National Sports Council, the Ministry of Education and Mark Stephens, Country Director of the British Council all pledged their commitment to engaging a wider sphere of young people in physical activities and increasing and improving the provision of PE and sports throughout the country.

Mark Stephens, Director British Council Egypt, said the British Council ‘believed in, and has seen first hand the power of sport.’ HMA James Watt echoed the sentiment saying 'that now ‘is a chance to develop education, a respect for the achievement of others and a desire to make the world a better place.’ To give further credence to the ideals of the conference, Dr Gamal El Arabia expressed his wish to ‘make sports a way of living for each and every citizen’ and hoped that this would become part of the new Egyptian constitution.

These positive words gave the young people and facilitators present further encouragement to discuss their recommendations in more detail and to work together to ascertain not only their feasibility but also to create a clear strategy and timeline for implementing them.