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countries. The importance given, however, to the Olympic Games brings
it about that the entire journalistic world and all media for forming
public opinion are utilised in order to stress particularly the importance
of sport. This brings it about quite automatically that the Olympic
movement too is brought also into the centre of interest. It is the task
of the National Olympic Committees to do everything in their power
to send teams to the Olympic Games and the scope of the Olympic
functionaries here becomes clear. They have to see to the training of
the Olympic candidates and all preparations must be made so that the
team of their country can enter the Olympic Games under the most
favourable conditions. What these tasks are in detail and how they
should be coped with, goes beyond the scope of this talk. I therefore
believe that the programme of the International Olympic Academy
should be augmented by the inclusion of lectures on the administrative
work of the Olympic functionaries in order to extend the scientific
equipment of the students of this Academy to administrative-technical
matters.
If my suggestions might be supplemented by still another then it
would be that the International Olympic Academy should match itself
with the Academies of Sciences by awarding prizes for excellent performances
in the Olympic movement which would certainly contribute
to enhance the prestige of this institution even more.
And now I come to the end of my short talk. I believe that there is
no better phrase than that which the founder of the Olympic movement
decided should be shown in the stadium during the closing ceremonies
of the Games of :
"Puisse ainsi le flambeau olympique se transmettre, a travers les
âges, pour le bien de l'humanité, avec toujours plus d'enthousiasme, de
loyauté et de ferveur".
"May the Olympic Flame be handed down, throughout the ages,
for the good of humanity, with always greater enthusiasm, loyalty
and fervour."
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