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“Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life... (Olympic Charter – Fundamental Principle 1)

The Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage is the heart of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s cultural and educational activities, it is one of the driving forces behind the international promotion and dissemination of Olympism. It manages all forms of IOC’s heritage. It fosters creation and dissemination of Olympic knowledge. It supports and produces wide-reaching and innovative programmes within the Olympic Movement and beyond, embracing different forms of expression. It coordinates all Olympic players and communities related to culture and education.

The Olympic Foundation for Culture & Heritage includes IOC Heritage Management, the Olympic Studies Centre, The Olympic Museum and International Programmes for Arts, Culture and Education.

IOC Heritage Management

The IOC’s patrimonial collections are managed by the Heritage Unit. This includes the acquisition, preservation, restoration, documentation, study and securing the availability for internal and external partners of 90,000 artefacts, 650,000 photographs, 45,000 hours of videos, 8,800 hours of sound documents and 1.5km of archives.

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Olympic foundation for culture and heritage

The Olympic Studies Centre

The IOC Olympic Studies Centre is the world source of reference for Olympic knowledge. Its mission is to share this knowledge with professionals and researchers by providing information, giving access to its unique archive and library collections, enabling research and promoting dialogue between the academic community and the Olympic Movement.

The Studies Centre collaborates with a network of academics and university-based Olympic Studies Centres around the globe and funds Olympic-related research via two grant programmes.

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Foundation for Culture and Heritage

International Programmes for Arts, Culture and Education

The International Programmes develop, produce and implement strategies, initiatives and projects on Olympic art, culture and education in collaboration with international partners in both the Olympic family and beyond. The programmes aim to offer a multitude of possibilities to interpret and reinterpret the links between sport and culture at large, which are fundamental to the Olympic Movement.

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Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage

The Olympic Museum

The Olympic Museum is a destination and a content creator, as product are distributed by the cultural hub.

The Olympic Museum in Lausanne (Switzerland) (TOM) is the essential storyteller for the Olympic idea. The Museum is not about a collection, it is about an idea: Olympism. Its vocation is to let people discover the Olympic Movement, witnessing its essential contribution to society, and to transmit the Olympic values beyond the celebration of the Games and competitions.

History, culture, design, technology and sociology are some of the themes addressed beyond sport, in turn reflecting the richness and diversity of Olympism.

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