Young talents who are willing to make a difference and leverage the power of sport to address social challenges in their communities now have the opportunity to apply for the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Young Leaders Programme 2025-2028. The 25 selected participants will be announced in February 2025.
Since the creation of the programme in 2016, IOC Young Leaders have delivered over 160 sport-led projects promoting education and livelihoods, equality and inclusion, health, peace-building and sustainability, directly benefitting more than 37,000 people.
Any young person aged between 20 and 28 can register by 21 October 2024 to benefit from the initial four-week Learning Sprint, comprising four virtual sessions and topic-specific reflection tasks.
After successfully completing the Learning Sprint, a candidate becomes eligible to apply for the IOC Young Leaders Programme. Applications will be open from 18 November to 16 December 2024.
The selected participants will be supported by the IOC and a network of mentors in the development of their grassroots projects. Each of them will receive a total amount of CHF 10,000 seed-funding delivered over the four years, as well as access to monthly expert-led workshops, global gatherings, coaching, networking opportunities and dedicated support.
More details on the application process and requirements can be found here.
A community of sporting innovators
“The IOC Young Leaders programme has been a huge help,” explained current IOC Young Leader Sofía Arévalo from Mexico. “Financially, it helped me in many aspects, including getting my certification for organising sports events. Furthermore, I think the connections with Young Leaders from around the world who are trying to make a better world through sport has also broadened my perspective. It is an honour to have this opportunity – I know it is going to help many people.”
Current IOC Young Leader Isaiah Kioiloglou from Greece commented on the programme support: “The IOC Young Leaders Programme was ideal for me. The training provided is so helpful. They are helping us slowly but surely secure a sustainable social business, as we have access to experienced mentors, lecturers and people who are there to support us, including the programme’s head managers. The whole experience wouldn’t be the same without them. Besides that, a very important part is seeing how people do it in other countries. We share the experience of being entrepreneurs in different cultures. It’s really amazing.”
IOC Young Leaders Programme contributing to Olympism 365 days a year
Launched in 2016, the IOC Young Leaders Programme empowers young people to leverage the power of sport to make a positive difference in their communities. The programme contributes to Olympism365, the IOC’s approach to using sport as an important enabler of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and specifically to Olympism365’s innovation portfolio, which aims to identify, sustain and scale innovative sports-based approaches that deliver concrete impact in targeted communities.
Learn more about the IOC Young Leaders Programme and the Olympism365 strategy, and sign up for the “IOC Young Leaders in Action” newsletter to get the latest updates.
