Olympic Day 2021
22/06/21
Today is Olympic Day 2021. The Youth Charter launched in 1993 as a legacy of the Manchester 2000 Olympic Bid and has campaigned and promoted the role and value of sport, art, culture and digital technology in the lives of disaffected young people from disadvantaged communities nationally and internationally.
The Youth Charter scroll was presented at the IOC Congress in Monaco by Manchester 2000 Olympic, World, European Champions: Geoff Thompson MBE, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, Alan Pascoe MBE, Sir Steve Redgrave CBE, Dame Mary Peters DBE, Adrian Moorehouse MBE, Lord Jeffrey Archer.
As Tokyo prepares to host the postponed 2020 Olympic Games during a pandemic that has impacted on the education, health and well-being of our most deprived and disadvantaged communities, it is worth remembering that the founder of the Modern Games, Baron Pierre de Courbetin, was inspired by the youth and community work of Dr William Brookes and the Wenlock Olympian Society.
The Youth Charter's Games Legacy work in Manchester, included the historic "Spirit of Hulme and Moss Side Tour of LA", which was delivered in 1994, the IOC's Centenary Year, in partnership with the LA84 Foundation an Olympic Legacy initiative. The Tour Group helped to establish the Moss Side Millennium Powerhouse.
In 2006, the Youth Charter teamed up with the Muhammad Ali Centre, the legacy initiative of the "The Greatest", who was an Olympic Champion. The Youth Charter has hosted Ali Scholars, delivered YC FLAB SCLP Workshops in Manchester and Louisville and developed the Smoke Town Community Campus.
In 2012 and 2016, the Youth Charter held two Games Legacy Debates in MediaCityUK, with former Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP, moderating the debate. This was followed by the launch of the Youth Charter's 2012 and 2016 Games Legacy Reports at the Palace of Westminster. The Youth Charter’s ongoing Games Legacy work is represented in our National and Global Call 2 Actions which aims to provide a #LegacyOpportunity4All...
