The First Sports Congress was organized from 25 and 26 of September 2010. This was the first national conference held in the sports history of Nepal. This was a combined effort of various stakeholders including government and non-government Nepalese stake-holders. The program was conceived and developed by Nepal Olympic Committee.
The objective of the Congress was to develop a synergy of sports development along with the International Olympic Movement and solidarity with government participation and support.
There were more than 145 participants who actively participated for two consecutive days. The Congress was inaugurated by the Honorable Chairman of the Constitution Assembly, Mr. Subhas Nembang Subba. The congress was graced by Dr. Santiparb Tejvanija, Advisor to the President of Olympic Council of Asia. The program chair by Mr Dhruba Bahadur pradhan President of NOC,Nepal and Well Come by Mr Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Secretary General and Co-ordinator,1st Sports Congress. The program of the congress is given in Annex A.
There were various speakers on various field related to the sports development. The papers presented by the resource persons were compiled and distributed to all participants.
The congress was financially and technically supported by Olympic Council of Asia and International Olympic Committee.
GODAVARI DECLARATIONS
The Congress unanimously realized that the fundamental principles of the Olympic Movement in accordance to the IOC Charter shall be strictly complied by all the stakeholders of the Nepalese Olympic Movement with full respect and responsibility on a fully reliable basis.
Strategic plan in sports development for all national sports associations / federation shall be done and complied with the vision of the Nepal Olympic Committee in conjunction with the WADA Anti-Doping Code.
The Congress has full confidence that Ethics and Good Governance applied to all stakeholders of the Olympic Movement in Nepal together with the important roles of the media and new sources of fund through the sports marketing program as well as the full support of the government authorities are essential for the Success of the Olympic Movement.
Resolution
· Nepali sports policy, strategy and strategic plan should be prepared in accordance with Olympics’ fundamental principle.
· Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC), National Sport Council (NSC) and National Federation (NF) should respect and honor each other’s existence and co-operate with each other and prioritize the development of sports in the country.
· As per international norms, National Sports Federation should be made autonomous and independent and to increase and enhance its work capacity, NOC and NF should come up with special programs and conduct relevant professional training. And National Federations’ should be made more accountable towards the betterment of the sports and athletes of the country.
· In order to enhance athletes’ performance, they should be provided with proper and timely training. The nation should see to that they are provided with facilities such as formal education and vocational training that secures their life even after retirement. A national level “Athlete Development and Wellfare Fund” should be established.
· For those athletes who need to skip exams conducted while they are representing their nation in various national and international tournaments, nation should guarantee that they can take their exams after the tournaments are over.
· For those athletes who take the flag of Nepal higher and bring in medals for the country in international competition, the nation should make sure that, as a token of appreciation of their contribution, they are provided with lifelong pension and these success stories should be regarded as national pride.
· The government should allocate budget as “Athlete Development Fund” for the development of sports and provide the federations with the budget based on the priority of the sport.
· For the development of sports, along with the athletes it is also important to make provisions for the betterment of the trainers. In order to enhance the skill of the trainers, the government should make provisions to provide a certain number of trainers with scholarship and send them to international training programs every year.
· Sport activities should be kept away from political influences.
· The government should fix budget for the development and repair of the sport infrastructure.
· The athlete and sport related federations should be given the responsibility of working to minimize and if possible eradicate the malpractices of the society so that peace prevails.
· “Sports for all” programs should be initiated nationwide to ensure a healthy society.
· Para-Olympic games should be given equal priority as other games.
ANNEX: 1st Sports Congress
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Presenter |
Presentation Theme |
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Mr. Umesh Lal Shrestha, President, Nepal Hokey Association |
Theme 1: National & International Games |
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Mr. Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Secretary General Nepal Olympic Committee and Coordinator of 1st Sports Congress |
Theme 2 : The Athletes
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Mr. Dhurba Bahadur Pradhan, President, Nepal Olympic Committee |
Theme 3: Sport Policy in Global Context |
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Mr. Antar Shilwal, Under Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports |
Theme 4: Current Sports Policy of the Nepal Government |
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Mr. Vaskar Raj Karnikar, Vice President, FNCCI |
Theme 5: Marketing/Sponsor |
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Dr. Shantiperb Tejavanija, Advisor to President of OCA |
Theme 6 : The structure of the Olympic Movement |
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Mr. Rabi Raj Karnikar, Secretary General, Athletic Association |
Theme 7: NOC Mission & Vision (Strategic Plan) |
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Mr. Sushil Sharma, Journalist, BBC |
Theme 8 : Media & Sports |
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Mr. Ramesh Maharjan, Secretary General, Nepal Judo Association |
Theme 9: Sports Through Peace |
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Dr. Saroj Krishna Shrestha, Chairperson, Medical Commission
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Theme 10: Anti Doping(WADA)
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XXXIII Olympic Summer Games