Bangladesh remains committed to sport and environment as ever
Saturday, 27 October 2007
Md. Mahfuzur Rahman Siddique
Seoul, once the host city of the Olympic Games, showed Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) the way to make its commitment to sports and environment.
At the first meeting of the newly formed Sports and Environment Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia held in Seoul from July 16 to 18 this year, the Secretary General of Bangladesh Olympic Association Kutubuddin Ahmed played a significant role. An awardee as a national sports organizer it earned him the prestigious membership in the committee of the OCA. This, no doubt is an honour for the National Olympic Committee as well as the nation. It prompted the Bangladesh Olympic Committee to from its Committee on Sports and Environment within a week.
Bangladesh is in the 10-member OCA Sports and Environment Committee. The others are Korea, Palestine, Syria, Sri Lanka, Combodia, Maldives, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia. It's indeed a matter of honour that among the 44 National Olympic Committees, affiliated with the OCA and the IOC, BOA is the 12th NOC to have its separate Sports and Environment Committee. With the establishment of the committee BOA and for that matter the Government of Bangladesh made a commitment to be guided by the Agenda 21 of the International Olympic Committee while practising and organising games and sports and creating or constructing physical infrastructural facilities for games and sports.
Though the BOA made its formal commitment to 'Sports and Environment' quite recently yet it was always found concerned and active on this vital issue of sustainable sports management. A little ahead of 'environment' having been declared by the IOC as the third pillar of Olympism after sports and culture in 1994, the BOA made a fervent call to the Sports Community of South Asia while staging in 1993 the 6th South Asian Federation Games, later renamed South Asian Games, to 'Cherish Sports and Preserve our Environment'. This was a significant demonstration of BOA's awareness of environmental issues.
On the September 19, 2003, it organised a clean up day in and around the National Stadium-l, now known as Bangabandhu National Stadium. BOA is quite punctual and sincere in observing the Olympic Day on June 23 every year or on a suitable day later, fixed in consultation with the Solidarity Commission of the IOC. On this auspicious day in 1894, Baron Pierre de Coubortin, a French aristocrat, humanist and academician founded in Sorbonne, Paris, the International Olympic Committee to revive the ancient Greek Olympic Games. Every year like other members of the IOC, BOA observes this day with due solemnity and remember the founding father of the modern Olympic Movement, profounder of Olympism, reviver of Olympic Games and the founder of IOC -- de Coubortin.
In 2001, 2002 and 2003 the BOA chose the themes on 'Sport and Environment' in observance of the day.
For 2001, it was, Save the Environment through the Olympic, for 2002, it was Green Environment Evergreen Life and for 2003, Drug Free Environment and Environment Friendly Habitation.
On September 13, 2003, a symposium on Sport and Environment was held in the National Sports Council Auditorium under the auspices of the NOC. Environmentalists, NGO representatives, senior government officials of the concerned ministries and departments attended as did athletes and sports organisers. A remarkable achievement of BOA before it formally committed itself to sport and environment was hosting an international seminar on the subject in a city hotel on January 10 and 11, 2004.
The two day seminar contributed significantly to sensitise the organisers, athletes and sports loving people of Bangladesh on the need of protection of environment to develop and sustain sports. BOA was always aware of environmental responsibilities in the development and sustainability of games and sports in Bangladesh.
BOA's new committee on environment arranged a discussion with the representatives of different sports federations and associations. It adopted an annual programme in this regard. It formulated an Agenda 21 for Bangladesh Olympic Association modelled on the Agenda 21 of the International Olympic Movement and took a host of other related programmes including hosting another seminar on sports and environment, a sensitisation programme on Sports and Environment on the venue on the of the upcoming Second Indo-Bangla-Bangladesh Games to be held in Dhaka.
A sincere and successful implementation of the programme would, I hope, earn the BOA admiration and goodwill of all the sports loving people of Bangladesh.
Seoul, once the host city of the Olympic Games, showed Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) the way to make its commitment to sports and environment.
At the first meeting of the newly formed Sports and Environment Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia held in Seoul from July 16 to 18 this year, the Secretary General of Bangladesh Olympic Association Kutubuddin Ahmed played a significant role. An awardee as a national sports organizer it earned him the prestigious membership in the committee of the OCA. This, no doubt is an honour for the National Olympic Committee as well as the nation. It prompted the Bangladesh Olympic Committee to from its Committee on Sports and Environment within a week.
Bangladesh is in the 10-member OCA Sports and Environment Committee. The others are Korea, Palestine, Syria, Sri Lanka, Combodia, Maldives, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia. It's indeed a matter of honour that among the 44 National Olympic Committees, affiliated with the OCA and the IOC, BOA is the 12th NOC to have its separate Sports and Environment Committee. With the establishment of the committee BOA and for that matter the Government of Bangladesh made a commitment to be guided by the Agenda 21 of the International Olympic Committee while practising and organising games and sports and creating or constructing physical infrastructural facilities for games and sports.
Though the BOA made its formal commitment to 'Sports and Environment' quite recently yet it was always found concerned and active on this vital issue of sustainable sports management. A little ahead of 'environment' having been declared by the IOC as the third pillar of Olympism after sports and culture in 1994, the BOA made a fervent call to the Sports Community of South Asia while staging in 1993 the 6th South Asian Federation Games, later renamed South Asian Games, to 'Cherish Sports and Preserve our Environment'. This was a significant demonstration of BOA's awareness of environmental issues.
On the September 19, 2003, it organised a clean up day in and around the National Stadium-l, now known as Bangabandhu National Stadium. BOA is quite punctual and sincere in observing the Olympic Day on June 23 every year or on a suitable day later, fixed in consultation with the Solidarity Commission of the IOC. On this auspicious day in 1894, Baron Pierre de Coubortin, a French aristocrat, humanist and academician founded in Sorbonne, Paris, the International Olympic Committee to revive the ancient Greek Olympic Games. Every year like other members of the IOC, BOA observes this day with due solemnity and remember the founding father of the modern Olympic Movement, profounder of Olympism, reviver of Olympic Games and the founder of IOC -- de Coubortin.
In 2001, 2002 and 2003 the BOA chose the themes on 'Sport and Environment' in observance of the day.
For 2001, it was, Save the Environment through the Olympic, for 2002, it was Green Environment Evergreen Life and for 2003, Drug Free Environment and Environment Friendly Habitation.
On September 13, 2003, a symposium on Sport and Environment was held in the National Sports Council Auditorium under the auspices of the NOC. Environmentalists, NGO representatives, senior government officials of the concerned ministries and departments attended as did athletes and sports organisers. A remarkable achievement of BOA before it formally committed itself to sport and environment was hosting an international seminar on the subject in a city hotel on January 10 and 11, 2004.
The two day seminar contributed significantly to sensitise the organisers, athletes and sports loving people of Bangladesh on the need of protection of environment to develop and sustain sports. BOA was always aware of environmental responsibilities in the development and sustainability of games and sports in Bangladesh.
BOA's new committee on environment arranged a discussion with the representatives of different sports federations and associations. It adopted an annual programme in this regard. It formulated an Agenda 21 for Bangladesh Olympic Association modelled on the Agenda 21 of the International Olympic Movement and took a host of other related programmes including hosting another seminar on sports and environment, a sensitisation programme on Sports and Environment on the venue on the of the upcoming Second Indo-Bangla-Bangladesh Games to be held in Dhaka.
A sincere and successful implementation of the programme would, I hope, earn the BOA admiration and goodwill of all the sports loving people of Bangladesh.