International Inspiration volunteers get set for UK School Games

International Inspiration is a key strand of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy to engage and inspire the youth of the world through sport. 

The 48-strong group of young leaders have been specially selected to attend the 2009 Games, in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.

The group consists of two young people from each of the 12 countries currently involved in International Inspiration (Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Jordan, Mozambique, Nigeria, Palau, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and Zambia); and young leaders from more than 20 schools  which have school links with the International Inspiration countries.

The UK School Games, which is managed by the Youth Sport Trust, is a multi-sport event for elite young athletes of school age and includes opening and closing ceremonies and an athletes’ village to replicate the environment of a major sporting event, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This year’s event in South Wales will feature 1,600 athletes competing across ten sports: track cycling, athletics, badminton, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, judo, swimming, table tennis and volleyball, with disability events in athletics, swimming and table tennis.

Volunteering at the Games will enable the young leaders to receive training and experience in leadership, volunteering, child protection and welfare, national governing body accreditation, event management, press operations and athlete support, while also improving their understanding of the cultures of each International Inspiration country, sharing experiences, developing relationships and formulating action plans to use their new skills and expertise back in their home country.

Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis who will meet the young leaders at the Games in her role as an ambassador for the International Inspiration programme, said -

“I am delighted we are able to offer these young leaders the opportunity to volunteer at the UK School Games through International Inspiration. Integral to International Inspiration is the development of school partnership links between schools in the UK and overseas and the engagement of young people in developing countries through PE and sport.

The young leaders selected to represent their country to volunteer at the UK School Games have demonstrated excellent leadership and volunteering skills in organising sporting activities and events in their own schools and communities and the time they will spend in South Wales will stand them in even greater stead for the future.”

International Inspiration is a unique partnership of public and private organisations. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has joined forces with the programme’s key delivery partners, UK Sport, UNICEF UK and the British Council to bring International Inspiration to fruition as a core of the London 2012 international education programme. Other partners and funders of International Inspiration include the Government Olympic Executive, part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for International Development, the Premier League, the British Olympic Association, the British Paralympic Association and the Youth Sport Trust. 

For more information visit www.uksport.gov.uk/internationalinspiration

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For media enquiries on the UK School Games please contact James Webb at the Youth Sport Trust Press Office on 020 7874 7680 james.webb@youthsporttrust.org or for information on International Inspiration please contact:

Lee Taylor at UK Sport on 020 7211 5105 lee.taylor@uksport.gov.uk

James Rowe at the British Council on 020 7389 4939 james.rowe@britishcouncil.org   

Nicola Hornzee at UNICEF on 020 7405 5592 nicolah@unicef.org.uk

Julia Smith at DCMS on 020 7211 6215 julia.smith@dcms.gsi.gov.uk

Julie Burley at LOCOG on 020 3201 2432 julie.burley@london2012.com

Notes to editors

International Inspiration is a programme which aims to use the power of sport to transform the lives of millions of children and young people of all abilities, in schools and communities across the world, particularly in developing countries, through the power of high quality and inclusive physical education, sport and play.

Delivery is led by UK Sport, in partnership with the British Council and UNICEF.  The Government Olympic Executive, part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association are central to the programme, with International Inspiration forming a core strand of the London 2012 International Education Programme. The Department for International Development (DFID) is also a key partner providing funding and other support. The Premier League has also provided funding. Delivery in country is supported by UK expertise from the Youth Sport Trust and by local implementing partners and the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee in each country.

Delivering the ambitions promised by the London bid team in Singapore, the programme aims to ‘reach young people all around the world and connect them to the inspirational power of the Games so they are inspired to choose sport and to see millions more young people across the world participating in sport and improving their lives as a result ’.

Already making a difference to young people’s lives, with £25 million of funding committed, projects are underway in eight countries: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Jordan, Mozambique, Palau and Zambia.  Projects are also due to start in Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago with planning underway for a further number of countries to start activity this year. The aspiration is to reach 12 million children in 20 countries by 2012.

International Inspiration has received the formal support of the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee as a core strand of the London 2012 International Education Programme.

For more information, visit www.uksport.gov.uk/internationalinspiration