Those attending the inaugural National Session for Young Participants (NSYP), are guaranteed to receive the tools to help build a solid foundation for their pathway in sport, when it kicks off this Saturday, August 14, 2021 at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, Wildey, St. Michael at 9am.
The theme for NSYP 2021 will be ‘Olympism and Humanism: Human Rights, Diversity and Inclusion in Sport’ and the keynote speaker for the session will be Chief Innovation and Partnerships Officer, Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR), David Grevemberg, who will speak on the topic, ‘Human Rights and the Olympic Values’.
At age 23, Mr. Grevemberg was selected by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee on the Centenary Olympic Games, to be a delegate to the 1996 International Olympic Academy (IOA) Session for Young Participants in Olympia, Greece. Since then, during his distinguished 25-year professional career, the former competitive wrestler has served as a coach, athlete agent, team manager, consultant and board member to numerous bodies, giving him a unique perspective to share with the young sportspersons.
He is the current Chief Innovation and Partnerships Officer at the CSHR, based in Geneva, Switzerland, and previously spent six and a half years as the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). In that role he oversaw the highly successful international multi-sport event. He has also served in the capacity of Executive Director of Sport and International Federation Relations at the International Paralympic Committee.
Apart from the keynote address, there will be several presentations delivered throughout the day. The topics include Sport and Activism: Is there a Conflict between Activism in Sport and the Olympic Ideal?; Safeguarding in Sport: Creating a Safe Space for Participation in Sport; Sport in the Community: Sport as a Powerful Tool for Social Change; and Accessible Sport: Competitive and Recreational Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. The presenters for these topics will be Ms. Aliann Pompey, President of the Panam Sports Athlete Commission; Ms. Vaneisha Cadogan, Director of the National Olympic Academy; Hon. Charles Griffith, M.P., Former Senior Youth Commissioner & Community Sport Practitioner and Mr. Ryan O. Brathwaite, Senior Operations Officer, BOA and Regional Development Manager, CGF. Rashad Applewhaite will also share his experiences as a para athlete.
Saturday’s session runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and it aims to develop the leadership capacity of young sportspersons; to introduce participants to Olympism and its ideals; to increase their knowledge of Olympic issues and provide a forum through which they can engage in dialogue on issues of relevance in sport. From the attendees, potential candidates to attend the annual IOA International Session for Young Participants will be identified.
All are invited to view the opening session which will be streamed live on Facebook.