38 replies to this topic

[Massilia]

About the Doha 2016 Youth Initiative

What is the Doha 2016 Youth Initiative?
The Crown Prince of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani has announced that – as part of the Doha 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games Plan – 100,000 young people from all around the world will be invited to Qatar as honoured guests to watch the Olympic and Paralympic Games.



Who will take part?

The participants in the Doha 2016 Youth Initiative will be 100,000 young people from all around the world aged between 14-18 years old. There will be equal numbers of boys and girls. In addition there will be 12,500 delegation staff to accompany the youngsters from their homes to Qatar, look after them while they are in Qatar and then accompany them back home again.

Why is Qatar proposing the Doha 2016 Youth Initiative?

The Doha 2016 Youth Initiative is an integral part of the vision of the Doha 2016 Bid: “to focus on our shared future – the world’s youth”. A Doha 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will engage and inspire them so that Arab youth better understand the wider world and the youth of the rest of the world gain a true picture of Arab culture.”

We feel that this is a valuable opportunity for the Olympic Family to make a difference to the peoples of the world. A Doha 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games would help to change perceptions about the Arab world and its culture. Awarding Doha the 2016 Games would unleash the power of the Olympic Movement and peaceful sporting competition to create understanding, hope and change that could unite the entire region with the rest of the world. This is the mission of the Doha 2016 Youth Initiative: to be the catalyst that creates that understanding, hope and change.

The Youth Initiative will create new friendships and understandings between competitors, spectators and people that will extend far beyond the Olympic Games themselves. It shares the IOC’s own mission of inspiring young people around the world about the Olympic and Paralympic Games and re-engaging them in sport.

Reflecting our Bid Tagline, ‘Celebrating Change’, the Doha 2016 Youth Initiative is about unity and friendship; it is about optimism and celebrating change; it is open, welcoming, fun and universally appealing; it overcomes barriers to cultures and peoples; and finally it honours achievement. All of these things are epitomized by the Olympic and Paralympic Games themselves.

With the Doha 2016 Youth Initiative, Qatar will be picking up the baton from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. London 2012 aims to inspire young people about the Olympics. Doha will take the next step to allow 100,000 young people from all around the world to experience the Games themselves. They will see firsthand every athlete’s dream – and we anticipate that having seen it, many will be inspired to live the dream for themselves while also having a chance to share this unique experience with millions of their friends and contemporaries around the world.

[cfm Jeremie]

I was surprised nobody brought that up earlier...

100,000!!
I like the idea but the scale seems simply unrealistic...

[Massilia]

cfm Jeremie, on Apr 23 2008, 11:42 AM, said:

I was surprised nobody brought that up earlier...

100,000!!
I like the idea but the scale seems simply unrealistic...

^^the logistics details are posted on the official website.
It should be made in 3 waves actually.

[baron-pierreIV]

100,000. In December? Right. A cheap ploy to fill those seats.

So, if it's even going to be feasible in 3 waves, you would have 33,334 young visitors coming every 8 days. Boy, you would hneed a fleet of some 250 Airbuses/jumbos working 28 hours a day to bring in those numbers.

And how are they going to get off school? (I assume dropouts would not be considered.)

And don't you think OTHER family members might want to go as well? So that would swell the numbers.

It's a clever rip-off of MacDonald's own Worldwide Employee Olympic Incentive Programme. I don't think the IOC will be too thrilled with this idea. Just too many chances of too MANY things going wrong.

And it still doesn't change the fact that a Games in December won't be viable.

Edited by baron-pierreIV, 23 April 2008 - 01:58 PM.

[jim jones]

baron-pierreIV, on Apr 23 2008, 05:22 PM, said:

100,000. In December? Right. A cheap ploy to fill those seats.

So, if it's even going to be feasible in 3 waves, you would have 33,334 young visitors coming every 8 days. Boy, you would hneed a fleet of some 250 Airbuses/jumbos working 28 hours a day to bring in those numbers.

And how are they going to get off school? (I assume dropouts would not be considered.)

And don't you think OTHER family members might want to go as well? So that would swell the numbers.

It's a clever rip-off of MacDonald's own Worldwide Employee Olympic Incentive Programme. I don't think the IOC will be too thrilled with this idea. Just too many chances of too MANY things going wrong.

And it still doesn't change the fact that a Games in December won't be viable.

Actually it is a very good idea and in keeping with what the IOC would like to do. Reach out to the youth to further interest in the games. In this day and age the IOC certainly needs interest in that demographic.
100,000 may seem like a big number to you baron but it really is not considering the annual Hajj . The annual Hajj to Mecca Had 44,000 in two weeks come and go from Nigeria alone. One airline in Nigeria there does nothing scheduled but the Hajj every year as the only annual charter. Kabo Airlines has three 747's. Other Nigerian carriers take part in the Nigerian Hajj Commission Airlifts as well. Consider that is one nation out of many that sends pilgrams to the Hajj annually the capacity is there. The Hajj is what a million or millions every year? With 3 million plus being a low attendance number for Athens 2004 a 100,000 does not seem like a huge amount really.

On the opposite end Baron I am sure the IOC would love to see this type of thing simply because it helps build interest with the future of the Games for viewing in person or on TV. It involves youth that will be around for another 60 years probably talking about it with all their friends . The old saying get em while they are young fits this. If a young person was picked who knows the parents might tag along on their dime. It certainly insures there will be people to fill the seats in Doha and they could get part fo the costs back if parents were to take the trip with the kids.

It is really an excellent idea and is intended to promote Olympics ideals. Really the cultural exchange certainly does that and is a huge gesture on the part of the Prince


jim jones

[baron-pierreIV]

jim jones, on Apr 23 2008, 10:15 PM, said:

It is really an excellent idea and is intended to promote Olympics ideals. Really the cultural exchange certainly does that and is a huge gesture on the part of the Prince
jim jones

The Hajj precedent did not escape me. But those are of course muslims for whom that is a lifelong objective. This a free holiday. Not quite the same pressing impeti.

But didn't they (or BOCOG and the sponsors) also think that this year's Torch Relay would've promoted the 'Olympic ideals'?

But it still doesn't change the fact that Doha's December window is not viable.

[jim jones]

baron-pierreIV, on Apr 23 2008, 11:55 PM, said:

The Hajj precedent did not escape me. But those are of course muslims for whom that is a lifelong objective. This a free holiday. Not quite the same pressing impeti.

But didn't they (or BOCOG and the sponsors) also think that this year's Torch Relay would've promoted the 'Olympic ideals'?

But it still doesn't change the fact that Doha's December window is not viable.

well school years would be something and actually Hajj itself would probably drain the number of Aircraft available as we are looking at the same month.
I think that in the case of an olympics and it being hosted in Qatar you are looking at quite a once in a lifetime education for many country's youth.

When referring to the Hajj I am meaning as to capacity in the aviation business in general . Nigeria is certainly not over supplied with Aviation Hardware in that yet 44,000 in 2006 is a huge number. Many Governments I am sure might be able to provide military transport as well at a cost, then you do have a great number of civilian contractors and wet lease operations around the world. The 44,000 from Nigeria is 10000 short of their yearly objective. 10000 in 2006 did not get to the hajj even thought they had tickets to go .

You multiple the number of Nations with operation like that (pakistan comes to mind) and it would not just be the general carriers but charter companies and others.

The December window is not the best agreed.

jim jones

[cfm Jeremie]

baron-pierreIV, on Apr 23 2008, 11:55 PM, said:

But it still doesn't change the fact that Doha's December window is not viable.

First of all it's October, not December.
We shall know in a little month or so if October is "just" really inconvenient or if it's a "no-go".

Should be interesting because if it's a no-go, then Rogge will have to explain his recent speech about Dubai being a potential strong contender for 2020 and beyond (surely Dubai would face the same issue).

[jim jones]

cfm Jeremie, on Apr 24 2008, 04:53 AM, said:

First of all it's October, not December.
We shall know in a little month or so if October is "just" really inconvenient or if it's a "no-go".

Should be interesting because if it's a no-go, then Rogge will have to explain his recent speech about Dubai being a potential strong contender for 2020 and beyond (surely Dubai would face the same issue).

Well lets face it October is really worse then December for the bring the 100000 students plan because in most place the school year is begin around that month. As to Jacques Rogge saying about Dubai being a strong contender for 2020 well it sounds like the president indeed wants to get the games out beyond Europe, North America and East Asia/ Australia.

The problem will always be Hot climatic conditions that places like India, Dubai, Qatar, Egypt ,Malaysia or Indonesia would have during the summers. I do not think the games will go to places right away but in 1988 while Seoul was hosting the first Games on the Asian Mainland I bet no one thought 20 years later the games would be in Beijing considering it was Bicycles in the street overwhelmingly in that city. The people here that listed for the next 50 years where the games would go did not even include places with a similar view from the west to be any place the games would go.
I think you will see the Games go to these places with new found wealth and huge populations that are becoming consumer markets.

considering Munich 1972 was held in September I would not be surprized with future hosting occuring in October. Qatar is building an underground stadium for soccer who knows climate may not be a huge issue if that was to become a trend . The IOC would of course have to allow it but the options of not repeating the past are becoming shorter. considering London is the only city to win a bid competition as a prior host in nearly 70 years (los angeles, innbrook and lake placid have never won a second bid) I would say the instincts of a Jacques Rogge are very correct.

F1 is certainly going to these regions and it is driven by economics for the multinational sponsors. Fifa is going back to south america for 2014 after a frist time having an african nation host. Could Australia be 2018 for the world Cup . I think England would be most likely or China for that matter.

The games will come to places outside the four continents sooner then later.

jim jones

[Rols O'Bertilsson]

jim jones, on Apr 24 2008, 10:00 PM, said:

London is the only city to win a bid competition as a prior host in nearly 70 years

Athens?!?