The Olympic Movement belongs to everyone

Episode 64: The Olympic Movement Belongs to Everyone

Released: May 2016

“The Olympic flag is a universal symbol. It belongs to everyone. It belongs to mankind….it is the expression of universality and of brotherhood of the world.” – Jacques Rogge, 2008 - click for video

Partners: Eli Wolff, Mary Hums and David Legg. This article was first published by Peace and Sport Watch. Reprinted with permission.

In the Olympic Charter, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) states, “The Olympic Movement encompasses organisations, athletes and other persons who agree to be guided by the Olympic Charter. The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

The practice of sport without discrimination suggests the Olympic Movement welcomes a diverse mix of athletes, including women, refugees, people of different faiths, ethnicities, races, sexual orientations, and abilities, including athletes with disabilities. We see athletes with disabilities take part in the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Special Olympics and the Deaflympics. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Special Olympics International (SOI) and the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) are officially recognized organizations of the IOC.

Principle 6

Image from Athlete Ally led Principle 6 campaign in 2014 to include reference to sexual orientation

Principle 6 of the Principles of Olympism in the Olympic Charter states that the:

Olympic Charter shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The reference to “or other status” can be interpreted as including athletes with disabilities competing in the Olympic Games as well as the athletes of the Paralympic Games, Special Olympics and Deaflympics. Given this interpretation, now is the time for the IOC to be more specific and direct in welcoming and including athletes with disabilities into Principle 6.

Given the recent successful movement to include sexual orientation in Principle 6, now is the time for the disability sport community and the general disability community to initiate a call to establish a more specific reference to disability within Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter. In addition, Recommendation 7 in the IOC’s strategic initiative Agenda 2020 states a desire to “Strengthen relationships with organizations managing sport for people with different abilities.” Formally including people with disabilities in the Olympic Charter would be a specific example of strengthening relationships to reinforce and amplify the roles and contributions of people with disabilities within the Olympic Movement.

This change would affirm the premise of Article 30.5 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that reinforces the right to sport and physical activity for people with disabilities. In addition, the newly revised UNESCO Charter on Physical Education, Sport and Physical Activity also clearly states the right to sport and physical activity for people with disabilities. These policies are in line with Principle 4 of the Principles of Olympism in the Olympic Charter that reads,

“The practice of sport is a human right.”

Olympic Charter

This momentum toward the inclusion and integration of people with disabilities in sport, culture and society reinforces the need to further legitimize and ensure the place of people with disabilities within the Olympic Charter and the Olympic Movement.

The Olympic rings represent the Olympic Movement. As a universal symbol, the rings represent all of us, including people with disabilities. We should honor and recognize the unity and synergy of this Olympic emblem relative to the Paralympic, Special Olympic and Deaflympic emblems. Hopefully the IOC, IPC, SOI and ICSD can all work together in solidarity to create a united and inclusive Olympic Movement that embraces everyone.

Olympic rings

The time is now to build inclusive, peaceful, and healthy communities. This vision includes valuing people with and without disabilities working, living and playing together side by side. Similar to the process of advancement for inclusion in the areas of race, gender and sexual orientation within the Olympic Movement, people with and without disabilities must also bring voice and action to promote and advance disability inclusion in the realm of sport in all arenas, including the Olympic Charter and the Olympic Movement.

We must continue to build bridges and facilitate unity in the ongoing efforts to advance the inclusion and integration of people with and without disabilities in sport and in society. Indeed, the Olympic Movement belongs to everyone.

Hudson Taylor

Please join in the conversation by leaving your comments below – you can also engage via social media:
#principle6forall
https://twitter.com/principle6all
https://www.facebook.com/principle6all

Episode

About the author: Eli Wolff

About the author: Eli Wolff

Brown University

Eli A. Wolff is Director of both the Sport and Development Project at Brown University and the Inclusive Sports Initiative at the Institute for Human Centered Design.

About the author: Mary Hums

About the author: Mary Hums

University of Louisville

Mary A. Hums is Professor of Sport Administration at the University of Louisville and Research Fellow with the Inclusive Sports Initiative at the Institute for Human Centered Design.

About the author: David Legg

About the author: David Legg

Mount Royal University

David Legg is Professor of Sport Management at Mt. Royal University and Research Fellow with the Inclusive Sports Initiative at the Institute for Human Centered Design.

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1 Comment

  1. Alexy

    Let’s go towards the invention of the “ALL’YMPIC GAMES” !!!
    But, if we start from the “Olympic Sports”, we need to make them really “designed for all” (rethinking their “rules architecture” to male it really “accessible”). Fortunately, we can already get inspired by excellent examples since a few years…
    So – why not? – we’ll soon be able to propose a first experimental demonstration of “inclusive sports”, maybe in 2024, to launch the new era of “All’ympic Games”!!! 🙂

    Reply

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