Youth programs

In May 2011, at an assembly of the International Olympic Truce Foundation in Lausanne, chaired by the President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, some Sochi 2014 initiatives were put forward, aimed at promoting peace, harmony and respect. As part of these initiatives, the Organizing Committee is devoting a great deal of attention to working with young people, and drawing young people's attention to such important concepts as peace, tolerance and participation.

An important element of the Organizing Committee's work to promote ideas of peace, harmony and respect for cultural diversity and religions is its cooperation with the international organization "Generations for Peace". To date, the Organizing Committee and "Generations for Peace", in conjunction with Sochi Administration, have successfully organized two international camps for young people in Sochi - in 2010 and 2011. In the space of those two years, 109 delegates underwent training, from the Russian Federation, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

The key achievement of the international peace camp "Generations for Peace"was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the founder and head of the movement "Generations for Peace", His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Al Hussein of Jordan, and the President of the Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko. Under the Memorandum that was signed, the parties are taking on obligations with regard to developing a support mechanism for introducing "Generations for Peace" programs through the efforts of the delegates who took part in the work of the camps in Sochi, in their native regions and countries. These programs are going to be united under the general title "Programs to form the legacy of the Sochi 2014 Games under the aegis of the movement "Generations for Peace".

It is important to note that the distribution of Olympic knowledge among young people is targeted not only at the international level: the Sochi 2014 educational programs have been running at educational summer camps for children in the Krasnodar Region. Children from all over Russia are therefore getting the chance to find out more about the history, philosophy and values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in a fun and exciting format.

Find out more about Youth Programes in Russia Today’s video