CITATION FOR ANOCA AWARD TO H.E. PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOTWANA LIEUTENANT GENERAL IAN KHAMA [Full text as received from The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA)] The African Olympic Movement today honors a person whose contribution to the development of youth in and through sport far exceeds the normal call of duty. His Excellency President Ian Khama has for the past five years, been at the head of a government that has invested in its youth, through massive expansion in education, physical activities and life skills and in national pride. The founding father of Modern Olympism, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, stated that sport without culture is just like a mere military exercise. President Khama’s support for youth and sport in Botswana has therefore gone in tandem with his government’s investment in cultural activities and the arts, making them a cornerstone of this country’s national identity. We celebrate today a man who has not only presided over an increasingly prosperous and proud nation, whose youth are at the centre of its development, but a leader who himself identifies with young people and their aspirations, is a sportsperson of note, and is as passionate about the performance of Botswana athletes in international competition as he is about their sense of national belonging. Botswana’s ever improving performance in international competitions such as the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games, not to mention the regional and continental competitions, many of which Botswana has hosted, the biggest of which is the 2nd African Youth Games which launches shortly, is testimony to its rapid transition from bit player to a an influential contributor to Africa’s assertiveness in world sport. Your Excellency, the youth of the world join their African colleagues today, in honoring you for understanding the power of sport as an important element in development, for this country’s investment in youth, in sport, in culture and the prosperity and happiness of the Batswana Nation in general. Your Excellency, the Olympic Movement in Africa honors you today for the faith you place in the goodness and importance of sport to meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals and the international community’s Post 2015 Development Agenda. We proudly note the role that sport and culture, and therefore the youth, have been assigned in the implementation of Botswana Vision 2016: United and Proud Nation. President Ian Khama, Statesman, leader and active sportsperson, the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa awards you its highest honor. General Lassana Palenfo, President For and on behalf of The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa Gaborone, Botswana 22 May 2014
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 10:23:21 +0000
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