Lausanne, (Asian independent) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday announced the selection of 25 new IOC Young Leaders, Rishav Bhowmik of India, who will leverage the power of sport to make a positive difference in their communities.
Coming from 25 countries and five continents, these future leaders will build sustainable, sport-focused social businesses from ideation to fruition, supported by weekly learning modules and leadership opportunities.
The final 25 candidates were selected from amongst 350 applicants, all with a background in or a clear passion for sport. The list of selected 25 Young Leaders is balanced in terms of universality and diversity, with 13 female and 12 male candidates, from 25 countries across five continents, and includes countries that have not yet been represented in the programme.
“All of us in the Olympic community share the mission to make the world a better place through sport. The IOC Young Leaders programme is empowering young people from around the world to put this mission in their communities into action,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.
“Thanks to our Olympic Partner Panasonic, we are able to build on the success of the first three editions of the programme and to expand it even further. With a sharp focus on building sustainable sport-based social businesses, 25 young people will be given unique opportunities,” he said.
Starting in February, the programme aims to empower the new pool of talents to develop their own social business as a localised sport-based solution to a pressing challenge in their respective communities. The participants will receive a total of Swiss Franc 10,000 seed-funding over the four years, and will be supported by weekly learning modules and leadership opportunities.
