New Delhi

Women across the world are playing a key role in expanding the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP), helping promote the principles of respect, excellence and friendship in communities and educational institutions as the global sporting movement marks International Women's Day on March 8.

The programme, led by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has grown significantly in recent years, with women educators and community leaders helping take Olympic values from classrooms to grassroots networks across several countries.

In India, OVEP has expanded rapidly. Since 2024, the initiative has reached more than 12 million children across about 65,000 schools, with women teachers playing a central role in implementing the programme.

The IOC has partnered with the Reliance Foundation to introduce OVEP in anganwadis — community-based centres that provide early childhood education, nutrition and health services in rural and low-income areas. These centres are largely run by women, making them important platforms for spreading Olympic values.

Sugandh Hamilton, OVEP lead for the foundation’s youth sports division, said the programme empowers women to take leadership roles in their communities.

“What makes OVEP powerful is not just the framework or the values it promotes, but the way it creates space for women to lead and shape change at the grassroots level,” she said.

Currently, about 120 anganwadis involved in the programme are run entirely by women, who have collectively conducted more than 1,200 OVEP sessions. The initiative has also strengthened the role of anganwadi workers as educators and community leaders.

Preeti Namdeo, an anganwadi worker from Madhya Pradesh, said the programme has helped many children gain confidence through sport-based activities. She cited the example of a young girl named Ruchi, who became more confident and active in group interactions after participating in OVEP sessions.

Beyond anganwadis, the IOC has partnered with the Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust to expand the programme in schools across Assam, Meghalaya, Odisha and Telangana. Nearly 250,000 young people have been engaged through the initiative, supported by more than 23,000 women educators.

Girls make up nearly half of the participants in the programme, with representation reaching up to 65 per cent in some areas.

Globally, similar initiatives are empowering women through sports education. In Saudi Arabia, a two-day OVEP training workshop held in AlUla brought together women educators who later became ambassadors promoting Olympic values through sports such as archery, basketball and fencing.

In Senegal, host of the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, women leaders are helping introduce Olympic values to around 900,000 young people.

Fanta Diallo, engagement and mobilisation director for Dakar 2026, is among those working to promote Olympism among youth. According to Cecile Faye of the National Olympic Academy of Senegal, the visibility of women leaders is helping change social attitudes and encourage young girls to pursue leadership roles.

In Italy, the programme has also been integrated into the Gen26 education initiative linked to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Women educators, who make up around 65 per cent of the national teachers’ network of the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit, have played a key role in designing and delivering the programme.

Officials say such initiatives demonstrate how women are not only implementing Olympic values education but also shaping its long-term legacy by empowering communities and inspiring young people through sport.