International Fair Play Committee Award for the M.A. Olympic Studies
UAB Olympic Studies Centre is a founding partner of the Master in Olympic Studies that has been honoured with the Presidential Award (Special Fair Play Promotion Diploma) of the International Fair Play Committee (IFPC) for the exemplary promotion of Olympic Values.
The award evidences the value-driven interdisciplinary teaching content of the programme.
The Master in Olympic Studies is an unique international part time programme, organised by the Olympic Studies Centre of the German Sport University Cologne and conducted in cooperation with five international partner universities: The Olympic Studies Centre of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain; The New Zealand Centre for Olympic Studies of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; the Institute for Sports Sciences of Kiel University, Germany; the Olympic Studies Research Group of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and the Department of Public Health of Aarhus University, Denmark. It is supported by the International Olympic Committee.
The UAB Olympic Studies Centre is responsible for the teaching module on Olympic Games, media and commercialisation, coordinated by Dr. Emilio Fernández Peña. Through the sessions, students learn on the extent to which this presents challenges to traditional IOC policies and Olympic values, by developing an understanding of the influence of media and commercialisation on the Olympic Movement and a critical understanding the commercial and media strategies of the IOC, OCOGs and TOP sponsors. Students also gain knowledge on the impact of new media on the relationship between the Olympic movement, media, and consumers.
The programme offers a multi- and interdisciplinary approach to Olympic Studies. Its teaching contents about the diverse aspects of the Olympic Movement are substantially linked with the Olympic Values as well as sport ethical and educational considerations.
Gabor Deregan, Head of the IFPC Presidential Office, presented the award in the name of IFPC-president Jenö Kamuti to programme director Prof. Stephan Wassong, the international partners and the team of the Olympic Studies Centre Cologne in the classroom of the M.A. Olympic Studies and in front of the participants of the 8th Intake of the study programme. He also gave an introduction of the IFPC´s important work in the promotion of Fair Play values. Mr. Deregan emphasized value education in sport and the importance of Olympic and Fair Play Values in particular, and the M.A. Olympic Studies as an exemplary programme in that regard.
Prof. Wassong remarked: “It is an honour that the M.A. Olympic Studies has been awarded the prize of the distinguished International Fair Play Committee. It evidences the value-driven interdisciplinary teaching content of the programme and its transfer into practice. Without a doubt, the award of the International Fair Play Committee will contribute to further strengthen the excellent profile of the study programme.“ He also emphasized that receiving this award is based on a team effort, based on the work of the team at the Olympic Studies Centre and the international partners – founding partners and new partners, on the supportive environment of the IOC, and, above all, on the dedicated participants of the programme.