With the goal of promoting a culture based on excellence, respect, and friendship, the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) continues to make its mark globally. In April 2025, the programme took a significant step in Saudi Arabia with the implementation of three projects focused on empowering women, youth, and educational communities, in a region where the values of Olympism find fertile ground to inspire cultural and social transformations.
Since its launch in 2005, OVEP has been a key vehicle for transmitting the principles of the Olympic Movement in educational settings. Its most recent recognition, the “Nurturing Values and Ethics Award” at the Reimagine Education Awards 2024, reinforces its prestige. Now, in collaboration with Saudi partners such as the Saudi Olympic Academy, the Royal Commission for Al-Ula, and Princess Nourah University, the programme is adapted to the local context to promote a new vision of sport as a tool for inclusion and human development.
Training, inspiration, and female leadership in sports
OVEP‘s journey in Saudi Arabia began in Al-Ula with an intensive training workshop for teachers and coaches — both men and women — aimed at integrating Olympic values in classrooms and fostering community projects. This experience quickly led to concrete initiatives such as inclusive school activities and family-friendly events, showcasing how sport can become a space for cooperation and mutual respect. “This training represents a powerful demonstration of the strength of the universal values promoted by Olympism,” said Frédérique Jamolli of the IOC.
The second and third projects further strengthened this approach. In Riyadh, OVEP played a central role in the new Diploma in Olympic Studies, where participants developed proposals that are already in the planning stages. At the same time, a seminar at Princess Nourah University — the largest women’s university in the world — deepened the teaching of values through sport, marking a milestone in the development of future female sports leaders. As Xenia Kourgouzova, director of OVEP, explained, the success of these initiatives lies in their ability to adapt to the environment and make Olympism meaningful in people’s daily lives.
