Gandhinagar, November 10, 2026: Luxembourg's national Olympic program. The workshop took place in Athens and Olympia, Greece from 3 to 6 November 2026 to support Luxembourg's national Olympic values education program De Léiw an Dir (“The Lion Within”). BCORE was invited to Asia in recognition of its work in Olympic education and research and BCORE's director, Dr. Utsav Chhaware represented India.
The 'India Center of Olympic Research and Education' (BCORE) under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Studies Center at the National Defense University (RRU) was invited by the Luxembourg Olympic and Sports Committee (COSL) in collaboration with the Luxembourg Ministry of Education, Children and Youth (MENJE/SCRIPT) to participate in the International Academic and Education General Workshop on Olympic Education along with other regional experts.
Luxembourg's National Olympic Education Program De Léiw an Dir (“The Lion Within”) was an Olympic values education program developed by COSL in collaboration with MENJE/SCRIPT. This was a long-term national initiative to sustainably embed Olympic values into Luxembourg's education system, with a strong emphasis on scientifically based learning competencies, practice-based educational materials and international-class teacher training programmes.
Also read: Unity Day celebrated by Rashtriya Raksha University on the eve of Sardar Patel birth anniversary
Atala, it was necessary to build a large-scale program on tested experience. Therefore, this workshop brought together scholars, educational experts and education professionals from various fields, including the Dean of the International Olympic Academy (IOA), Prof. Dr. Other experts in academia, Olympic education and school practice included Konstantinos Georgiadis and Spyros Avagustis, Pedagogical Advisor of the National Olympic Academy of Greece. Each expert shared how Olympic education has been promoted in their respective regions, what approaches have been successful, and what challenges they have faced along the way. In various sessions, the educational philosophy of Pierre de Coubertin and its relevance to modern value-based education, promoting respect, tolerance, fair play, friendship and excellence and ways of linking educational research with educational practice were reviewed. The participants also worked together on educational materials and teacher training programs, the results of which were directly useful for national level implementation in schools.
India's Perspective and BCORE's Contribution
BCORE was invited to bring an Asian experience to the workshop, presenting examples of how Olympic education had been implemented in India and how Olympic values had been communicated in different cultural and social contexts. Dr. Chhaware shared the model created by BCORE at RRU: a university-led approach that worked collaboratively with National Olympic Committees and National Sports Federations to create and deliver conferences, education programs, athlete wellness initiatives and research. This invitation was a recognition of BCORE's work since its establishment in June 2024 and the value of the perspective from India, a large and diverse country with aspirations to host major sporting events, in advancing Olympic education at the international level.
In just two years, the operation expanded into research, community engagement, athlete welfare and global partnerships. With the Olympics in mind, BCORE organized two editions of the International Olympic Research Conference, which brought global scholars, practitioners and Olympians to India to review important questions for a country with Olympic aspirations, the proceedings of which were published internationally. She extended the Olympic values beyond the campus through large public engagement programs promoting fitness, inclusivity and safe participation in sport, and led national programs on safe sport and athlete safeguarding, including research and education on anti-doping in partnership with federations, armed forces sports bodies and high-performance academies. Collaboration with Olympic Studies Centres, universities and Olympian-run academies in India and abroad, as well as internship and exchange programmes, gave students first-hand exposure to the world of sport.
Importance and way forward for India
The knowledge and experiences gained from Athens and Olympia were brought back to India and adapted to Indian conditions in higher education, research and schools. BCORE intended to develop a school-level Olympic Values Education program beginning in Ahmedabad, using the approaches, materials, and teacher training models discussed in the workshop. For India, as it moves towards major sporting events, including a potential Olympic Games, such a program is important because the values of fair play, respect and excellence are best instilled in the classroom early on, long before planning begins.
BCORE Director Dr. Utsav Chavare said: “This invitation was a recognition of what BCORE and the National Defense University had built over the past two years. Olympic education cannot be simply copied from one country to another; it has to be adapted to local culture and needs. We came to Athens and Olympia to share India's experience, to learn from the regions that have walked this path and faced these challenges courageously, and to bring back what was useful to our schools, our universities and our research. Had gone.”
♦ Give your opinion about special articles and news published in Revoi. – Email: (email protected) ♦