http://maigoc2007.sports.sina.com.cn 2007-06-12 MAIGOC
“There is no doubt that the Association of the Portuguese Speaking Olympic Committees (ACOLOP) has the full support of the International Olympic Committees (IOC), and the doors of IOC are always opened to ACOLOP,” remarked IOC President Jacques Rogge in a meeting with ACOLOP President Manuel Silvério at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on Monday. Manuel Silvério introduced the projects of ACOLOP to Rogge, who extended his congratulations for the success in the organization of the 1st Lusofonia Games. The IOC President said that he has heard very positive comments on the organization of the multisports event held in Macau last October.
“It was a very positive meeting, and a very significant one for ACOLOP, which is experiencing great developments and gaining international recognition. ACOLOP is an organization established under the Olympic Charter and congregates various Olympic Committees. Therefore, the fostering of their relationships with the IOC is determinant for us,” Manuel Silvério said. “Jacques Rogge demonstrated profound interests in the work that ACOLOP has being doing, thus building the basis for a closer relationship in the future.”
Amongst the subjects Silvério and Rogge discussed was the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The IOC President considered that the inclusion of Macao in the 2008 Olympics torch relay is an “important milestone”. As the 1st vice-president of the Macau Olympic Committee, Manuel Silvério thanked Rogge for the support given by IOC.
Projects designated for young athletes were another topic of discussion in the meeting. Manuel Silvério explained that the Association of the Portuguese Speaking Olympic Committees intends to develop special activities for the youth, helping members of ACOLOP to create better conditions in Sports. As the President of ACOLOP, he considers that Portugal is an excellent candidate to host the Youth Olympic Games, a new idea of IOC which was approved last April and will be further discussed in its Executive Board meeting this coming July, in the city of Guatemala. “As one of the earliest founded Olympic committees, the Portuguese Olympic Committee has a great tradition. In the last few years, Portugal has accumulated plenty of experience in the organization of multisports events of different scales, which provided it with an excellent profile of a candidate with the full support of ACOLOP,” he underlined. Jacques Rogge replied that Portugal has already proved its capability through the organization of sports events, given examples such as ‘Euro 2004’ and ‘Gymnastrada,’ and other events of similar scales.
Also present in the meeting is IOC Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations Department, Pere Miro. Manuel Silvério further explained that, after his visit to Mozambique last April, the Association is developing ways of supporting the OlympAfrica centre in Boane. The IOC President demonstrated satisfactions with ACOLOP’s commitment in a project with a strong humanitarian component, in which the IOC has a main role, together with the Mozambique Olympic Committee. The OlympAfrica centre is a project developed to support children and teenagers with social and financial problems, providing education and sports training to more then 1,000 students in the village of Boane.
In addition, Manuel Silvério told Jacques Rogge that ACOLOP is in preparations for the candidature of membership to the General Association of the International Sports Federation (GAISF). The GAISF is an organization that gathers international sports federations and also important associations in the international Sports circle. The candidature was welcomed by the the International Olympic Committee President.
