download - IOA

Address
By Mr Georgios FLORIDIS (GRE)
Under-Secretary of State for Sports
We welcome you here today on the hill of the Pnyx, under the shadow of the
Acropolis in Athens, at the place which gave birth to all-human values and ideals
like democracy, man-centred education and fair play. These great values of our
civilisation have been incorporated in Olympism a proposition of universal impact
and expressed through it along the centuries.
Greek classical tradition considered sport as an integral part of both
education and social life; it therefore promoted the concept of health, in its
spiritual, physical and social dimension, believing that, with the help of sport,
a healthy mind should find its place in a healthy body and that sport would
contribute to the development not only of healthy athletes, but also of healthy
societies.
This achievement of Greek education that leads to the fulfilment of human
nature and society, is the basic source of Olympism, the key which explains its
universality then and now. I would say even more so now when it is trying
to find the proper balance between humanitarian ideals and the harsh demands
of our times.
The progress of technology and the entertainment industry, which have set
the tone for future developments, will be the measure by which the universal,
human and timeless ideals of Olympism will be judged. This is a challenge of our
times, which should be faced in an open, transcending and proactive way, with
a concerned but unafraid mind. And I have to say that this has always been the
consistent attitude of President Samaranch, the present leader of the Olympic
Movement and we honour him for that.
The IOA's 41 st International Session for Young Participants, which will begin,
tomorrow in Ancient Olympia to consider the theme "The Olympic Games". A
Review of the Olympic Games of Sydney 2000 and "Athens 2004", will focus on
the problem of the Olympic Games' evolution.
We are all invited to reflect on the special features, the positive aspects and
the negative phenomena of each Olympiad, in order to carry over the experience
and achievements of the previous Olympics to the next, and on the unique
atmosphere which each host city can create for the Games.
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