Kigali, 01 September 2011
The International Olympic Committee President, Jacques Rogge today payed a courtesy call on President Kagame with whom they discussed various issues related to sports in the country. Mr. Jacques Rogge also presented President Kagame an IOC 2010 award for “Inspiring Young People” around the world.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, the International Olympic Committee President said: “The IOC has given an award to President Kagame as recognition for his support to sport. He highly deserves this honor. Our discussions dwelt on the role that sport can play; sport is not only about athletic performance. Sport can be found in education, health and development. There is a conference going on in Kigali bringing together 10 countries that will discuss all these aspects of sport.”
While in the country, the International Olympic Committee President will meet all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) members and will seek to understand how Rwanda has recovered from the 1994 Genocide in general and how sport has contributed to this recovery.
Other activities to be undertaken by Mr. Jacques Rogge include a visit to the Gisozi Genocide Memorial and a meeting with the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the NOC President Col. Dr Charles Rudakubana and other members of CNOSR.
The Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Protais Mitali said: “President Kagame and his guest talked about a wide range of issues, but specifically dwelt on development of sport in the country and how the International Olympic Committee can offer long term support.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president. Today its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees.
The Rwanda National Olympic Committee (RNOC) was formed on January 25th, 1984 and has been one of the active National Committees on the African Continent. The founding members include the following federations: Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Athletics, Cycling and Tennis. Currently the RNOC has 25 members composed of sports federations, sports associations and others sports.