Francesco Purromuto and Iakovos Filippousis, the newly elected President and Secretary General of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games, visited the Mediterranean Young Ambassador programme aboard the AROYA cruise ship on Sunday evening, August 30, where they thanked the athletes and organisers involved in the initiative.
The ceremony was attended by ICMG Head of Education Ljiljana Ujlaki Subic and project coordinator Denise Panagopoulou, as well as the young ambassadors taking part in the programme. The ambassadors were presented with special Taranto 2026 diplomas in recognition of their participation in the initiative.
Filippousis opened the ceremony by thanking the ambassadors for their contribution and paying tribute to those responsible for establishing and running the programme. He particularly thanked Ujlaki Subic, who has been behind the development of the initiative, and Panagopoulou for bringing the ambassadors together and helping maintain the programme throughout the Games.
“On my behalf, and before I give the floor to the new President, I would like to sincerely thank you for your participation and contribution,” Filippousis said.
“You are truly Mediterranean and you are truly athletes. We hope that next year in Portugal, during the Mediterranean Beach Games, you will also be with us and support our activities.”
ICMG Young Ambassadors – Taranto 2026
Filippousis then spoke about the role of the ambassadors and what they could represent beyond their participation in competition.
“As ambassadors, I would like to say a few words to you. Thank you for your very important participation. I want to emphasise one point. You can show that sport is not only about sport and competition. Sport is values. Sport is teamwork. Sport is connecting with the world and happiness.”
Purromuto: “Keep your passion for participation”
Purromuto, who was elected ICMG President and will formally take over the organisation on September 4, then addressed the ambassadors and athletes. His remarks were brief and direct, focusing on the ambassadors’ continued involvement after Taranto.
“I ask you to smile and keep going like this. Keep your passion for participation and enjoy sport. This is very important,” Purromuto said.
“You can deliver a message of dignity, value, strength and happiness to others.”
The appearance was one of Purromuto’s first public engagements with athletes and participants since his election as the new head of the ICMG.
Iakovos Filippousis – MYA 2026
Libyan ambassador reflects on Taranto experience
Among the ambassadors receiving a diploma was Rasha Abouzamazem of Libya, who told SportsIn that her first Mediterranean Games had given her an experience that went well beyond attending the event.
“This is my first participation in the Mediterranean Games, and for that reason, this experience was completely new for me in every way,” Abouzamazem said.
“It was not only about being part of such an important event, but also an opportunity to discover my role as an ambassador, meet young people from different Mediterranean countries, listen to their experiences and share my own experience, culture and country with them.”
Abouzamazem said she became aware early in the programme that representing Libya carried a responsibility beyond her own participation.
“From the very beginning of the programme, I felt that my presence here carried a responsibility beyond personal representation. I am carrying the name of Libya with me, and I am trying to present a real image of the young people of my country, their dreams and ambitions and their open outlook towards the world.”
One of the moments she remembered most was a visit from representatives of the Libyan Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports.
President Francesco Purromuto – MYA 2026
“One of the most influential moments for me was the visit of the Libyan Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports here. They stood beside me and expressed their pride in my presence and in representing my country,” she said.
“That moment made me feel even more strongly the value of the role I have been given and made me realise that the experience I am gaining here can also have an impact in Libya.”
For Abouzamazem, receiving the Taranto 2026 diploma did not represent the end of her involvement.
“Today, as I reach the end of this stage and receive my diploma, I do not want to see this moment as the end of this experience. On the contrary, I see it as the beginning of a new responsibility.”
She said her intention was to take the experience back to Libya and make it useful to other young people.
“My goal is not to take what I have learned and experienced here only as a memory, but to bring it back to Libya as knowledge and experience,” she said.
“I want to help introduce this programme to young Libyans, create opportunities for them to connect with young people from across the Mediterranean and contribute to developing this idea in a way that responds to the needs and aspirations of Libya and its young people.”
The ceremony aboard AROYA concluded with the presentation of the Taranto 2026 diplomas, bringing together the ICMG’s new leadership, the programme’s organisers and the young ambassadors who had taken part during the Games.
Valerie Enault – ICMG
Photographer: Vasilios Koutroumanos
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