Practical activities were a feature of the course ©LNOC

The Lithuanian National Olympic Committee (LNOC) has held a week-long course entitled "Values education through sport: applying the OVEP 2.0 methodology".

The course in Druskininkai was attended by 28 participants from 10 countries.

“The training course guided me through a deep learning and experiential process of non-formal education and Olympic values that will help me a lot in my work with youth,” said Monika Naumovska from the Olympic Committee of North Macedonia, who was one of the participants in the training.

“Every aspect of the project - its topic, place, activities, trainers, organising team – was of a very high level,” added Naumovska.

Representatives from the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum, the German Olympic Academy, and the National Olympic Committees of North Macedonia, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Poland were all in attendance.

“I have attended many theoretical lectures on Olympic education, but here, in Lithuania I had an opportunity for the first time to try and apply Olympic values in practice,” said Zdenek Skoda, vice-president of the Czech Olympic Academy, who also took part in the training course.

The education through sport course organised by the Lithuanian NOC was attended by 28 participants from 10 countries ©LNOC
The education through sport course organised by the Lithuanian NOC was attended by 28 participants from 10 countries ©LNOC

Meanwhile, Ivana Motolikova, the director of the department of Olympism at the Slovak Olympic Committee, said the course helped get her out of her comfort zone.

“I learned a lot from the group work,” Motolikova said.

“It taught me to be more open to the ideas of others and proved that communication and collaboration is vital in achieving common goals.”

The training course was partially funded by the European Union programme Erasmus+ which supports education, training, youth and sport in Europe.

“I am glad that the Lithuanian Olympic Committee is the one to take the initiative in the area of Olympic education on European level and the one to share good practices,” said LNOC President Daina Gudzinevičiūtė.

“While observing the training course, I had an impression that the goal was achieved - some of the participants discovered OVEP, others found new ways to apply this programme in their countries and gained valuable experience.

“This training course was a good stepping stone for forging strong connections and creating a framework for planning future activities,” added Gudzinevičiūtė.

OVEP is based on the Olympic philosophy that learning takes place through a balanced development of body and mind.