Role of IOC in Sport and Peace, Olympic Truce – Myth or Reality?, Can Sport Really Build Peace?

These questions and others were discussed during the first IOC Seminar on Sport and Peace for the Middle East, hosted in Aqaba by the Jordanian Olympic Committee.

Building bridges and partnerships

The Seminar strived to achieve the following objectives:

– Bring together the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the Middle East and North Africa region and other sports institutions to discuss what sport and peace can do to help create communication bridges between communities

– Define areas of possible partnerships among institutions at national and regional levels and encourage the implementation of joint activities

– Strengthen the sport and peace network in the Middle East, in particular with the support of the Sport and Peace Foundation of the Jordanian NOC President, HRH Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein

Strong participation
It speaks for itself that this seminar brought together representatives of 17 NOCs from the Middle East and North Africa region as well as prominent guests and speakers, including Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein; IOC members Toni Khoury – who represented the IOC President, Jacques Rogge – and General Mounir Sabet; as well as David Winiger, Special Assistant to Adolf Ogi, Special Adivsor to the United Nations Secretary General on Sport for Development and Peace; and Tomas Sithole, IOC Director of International Cooperation and Development.

Main subject on their agenda: the role that sport can play in helping to unite conflicting communities. The seminar was also an occasion for Prince bin Al-Hussein to present his initiative Peace through Sport which aims to train youth leaders from areas of conflict on how to use sport as an agent for peace within their own divided communities.

Concrete recommendations

The Seminar was concluded with final recommendations in which delegates highlighted the need for sport and peace issues to be placed higher on the international agenda of sports organisations and government entities. Furthermore, they supported the IOC’s idea to organise Youth Olympic Games as a new platform to promote the Olympic Truce and Olympic values to the world’s youth. The delegates also urged the NOCs to work with their respective governments to encourage the use of sport as a peace building tool.

Photo Credit : NOC Jordan
A lively debate
From l. to r. HRH Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein, General Mounir Sabet,
Tomas Sithole and representives from NOCs of Jordan and Iraq.

Photo Credit : NOC Jordan
HRH Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein passes a baton of peace on to Tomas Sithole.

See complete list of recommendations. (PDF)

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Completed! Phase I

COMPLETED! – Phase I of the Land Patronage Program! $120,000 (USD) is presented to Harris and Maria Anastasiadou by Makis Havadjias, Co-Founder, The Monument of the Immortals. Also present were Constantinos Coucoullis, Attorney, The Monument of the Immortals, George Liveris, General Secretary, Hellenic Olympians Association, and two unnamed representatives for the sellers.

Monument Presentation Update

On June 6 2005 the Monument upgraded its power point presentation to a Director Version. The work done Pro Bono by Mr. Michael Kleanthous. Our Deepest Appreciations.

On June 21 and 25, the foundation held talks with two companies to upgrade our presentation to a DVD status.

On June 16, 2005 the monument made a presentation to Ria Morfitou at the Intercollege in Cyprus. Ria was asked to make a class project of our “going to public” section of our strategic plan. Ria agreed to consider the monument as a possible class project for fall, subject to the presidents’ approval.

The Monument Travels to Greece

The Monument Travels to Greece

The Monument of the Immortals idea was presented to Greek officials on June 10, 2005. Mr. Spyros Kladas, the secretary general of the Olympic games 2004, was especially receptive. He promised to bring it to the attention of the alternate minister of culture, Mrs. Petralia, and arrange us a meeting with her.

The Monument of the Immortals documentation was presented to the HOC president, Mr. Minos Kyriakou on June 9, 2005.

On May 15, 2004 the Monument of the Immortals was presented to the president of the Hellenic Tourist Organization. Mr. Kalogeropoulos was very receptive and placed it under his auspices.

A presentation of the up to date developments of the Monument of the Immortals was given to the mayor of Olympia, on June 8, 2005. Mr. John Skoularikis asked and was briefed about the legal status of the presentation and the status of the fundraising effort for the monument.

Cyprus Olympic Committee Briefing

On May 19, 2005 a powerpoint presentation of the Monument of the Immortals was given to Evelina Georgiadou; director of the Cyprus Olympic Committee.

Ms. Evelina was very supportive of the project and promised to bring it to the attention of the IOC member, Mr. Kikis Lazaridis. Also present during the presentation was Mr. Damianos.

History Repeats Itself, Inscription Revived

On August 22, 2004 the new tradition of inscribing victor’s names in ancient Olympia became a fact.

The ancient and the new inscription
1531 years after the games were last held in Olympia, the Monument of the Immortals Foundation revived this ancient tradition. Pressented, to the city of Amaliada, was a glass inscriptive with the names of the 6 victors (Yuriy Bilonog – Ukraine, Adam Nelson – United States of America, Joachim Olsen Denmark, as well as Yumileidi Cumba Jay – Cuba, Nadine Kleinert – Germany, and Svetlana Krivelyova – Russia) of the Shot Put Event of the 321st Olympiad (Athens 2004). This event took place in the ancient Olympia Stadium on August 18, 2004.

“For 1000 years your city was in charge of the conduct of the games in Olympia and as such we present this plaque to you to commemorate the Shot Put event of the 321st Olympiad,” said Makis Havadjias Cofounder and President of the Monument of the Immortals while presenting the inscriptive to Mr Vassilis Papanicolaou, Vice Major of Amaliada, to be placed next to the ancient Victors in ancient Olympia.
“We gladly accept and treasure this as our responsibility said Mr Papanicolaou accepting the plaque on behalf of the Mayor Yiannis Liperis. Today we will keep the plaque at City Hall until we can place it at the ancient site.

The Vice Major of Amaliada went on to place the Olympia Immortals Album with the Athletes testimonials under the auspices of the mayor.

Present on behalf of the Monument of the Immortals were: Mr. Panagiotis Antonakopoulos (Co Founder and Member of Parliament), Mr. Aris Anagnos (Greece’s Honorary Cultural Attaché in Los Angeles ), Mrs Xeni Kosmidou, (Public Relations of the Monument of the Immortals) Professor at the University of Thesalloniki and Dr. Olga Kosmidou Professor at Demokritio University of Thrace.

About The Monument of the Immortals
The Monument of the Immortals is a non-profit organization in California (USA) and Cyprus dedicated to establishing a monument in Olympia, Greece to honor the history and sportsmanship of Olympic competitors and revive the ancient tradition of inscribing the names of Olympic victors.

For more information contact us at: info@tmoti.org

Olympia Immortals Monument in Mexico City

Riverside, California (USA) – On Saturday, November 27, precisely a year after the Architectural Design Competition was lounged, representatives of the Monument of the Immortals made a fundraising presentation of the winning design and future steps to be taken for the implementation of the project at the Gran Melia Hotel in Mexico City.

Representatives of the Greek Embassy, the Cyprus Embassy and the local media and fans of the project attended the event.

This event follows the successful lounge of the Olympia Album in ancient Olympia on August 13, 2004. The album was exhibited for dedication at the Gran Melia Hoter in Mexico. Further exhibition and presentation will be made in other capitals of the world.

The Olympia Immortals Album contains dedications of the thoughts and feelings of Athletes in their native language. All Athletes are invited to dedicate in the Album, to be kept in ancient Olympia.

For more information visit us at www.OlympiaImmortals.org.

Hundreds Vie for the Chance to Resurrect History

January 2004 For Immediate Release Contact: Karen Wynn
Tel: + 1 909-275-9966
Email: immortalsdesign@aol.com

Riverside, California (USA) – Six weeks after launching an open international design competition, The Monument of the Immortals Board of Directors proudly report 260 registered competitors at the close of the registration period.
Competitors from as far away as Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldava, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam and Greece will join Americans from across the nation in registering and submitting designs for consideration. The selected finalists will receive a cash prize of $5,000 (USD) and resubmit revised proposals in early May. The sole finalist selected in the second phase of the competition will direct the creative efforts in erecting the newest addition to a proud tradition in Greece.
“When you have an idea like this, you wonder if others will understand and accept it. The response of the competitors and media outlets is a resounding affirmation,” says Makis Havadjias, Co-Founder of The Monument of the Immortals.
The Monument of the Immortals is seeking a design for a monument that will serve as the bridge between the history of the ancient and modern Olympiads by listing the names of all victors from the start of the games in 776 BC through the modern resurrection in 1896 and for the next 1,000 years. The names will be listed in the native tongue of the victor, introducing a global element to the project. The Monument of the Immortals is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy and regional tourism. Additional site plans include public grounds for ceremonies and celebrations, a registry of Olympians, and gift shop.
Detailed information about the competition is available at www.tmoti.org or by faxed request to + 1 909-275-9930.
The first phase of the competition closes on January 10, 2004.
About The Monument of the Immortals
The Monument of the Immortals is a non-profit organization in California (USA) and Cyprus dedicated to establishing a monument in Olympia, Greece, the municipality of the ancestral home of the Olympic Games, to honor the history and sportsmanship of Olympic competitors and revive the ancient tradition of inscribing the names of Olympic victors.