Today, the Minister for Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, welcomed Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and Giovanni Malagò, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), to the Ministry (MIM), together with a delegation of students from the Convitto Nazionale “Vittorio Emanuele II” in Rome (photo: MIM).

“During the meeting, we discussed the importance of promoting the value of sport in schools, a value which, since the very beginnings of the Olympics, has had the power to unite people. Sport teaches us to compete fairly, to respect the rules, and to value each person’s talents,” said Minister Valditara.

The Ministry for Education and Merit has launched the distribution of OVEP (Olympic Values Education Programme) toolkits, a set of educational resources made available to teachers at schools of all levels. Developed by the International Olympic Committee, the programme provides a collection of tools designed to enrich the school curriculum with themed activities, teaching strategies and materials inspired by Olympic values. The toolkit also promotes physical activity, highlighting its long-term benefits for health, social wellbeing and youth interaction, while also helping to integrate civic education teaching.

“As a Ministry and as a Government, we are committed to spreading Olympic principles and a culture of sport in schools. Practising sport means learning to respect your opponent, who is never an enemy. Sport also means commitment; it teaches us to study and helps reduce early school leaving. For these reasons, we have allocated €890 million, sourced not only from the NRRP but also from ministerial funds, to enable schools to equip themselves with gyms. And today marks the opening in Cortina of a special edition of Scuola Futura, the travelling campus created and organised by the MIM, promoting educational and digital innovation, in collaboration with CONI, the Olympic Committee and the Milano Cortina Foundation. The aim is to showcase the excellence and beauty of Italian schools, even in mountain areas” concluded the Minister.