Singaporean schoolchildren shifted the focus of world culture displays in the Youth Olympic Village to the Americas and Oceania on Friday, injecting flashes of bright colour into a rainy grey day.
The World Culture Village in the centre of the athletes' home for the duration of the Youth Olympic Games has twinned Singapore schools with different countries to feature a booth for each participating National Olympic Committee. They started by displaying Europe, then Africa and the last focus will be on Asia.
Hong An Ping, 16, from the Anglo Chinese Junior College, was keen to teach arriving athletes about animals in Australia. "We have learned a lot about the country and we are taking pictures of each visiting athlete," she said.
Nearby, other schools were inviting athletes to ball games, quizzes and painting sessions designed to broaden their knowledge of the countries in the two regions.
Lee Zhi Yo Jovina, 17, from the Millennia Institute in Singapore, asked athletes in the Argentina booth to paint and build a wall of tiles carrying messages about the Games. She and her school friends had spent months studying the Latin American country to create their colourful history and geography display. "It was the first time I learned the language of Argentina was a different Spanish to that spoken in Spain," she said.
The inaugural Youth Olympic Games set out firmly to balance the commitment to sports with a Culture and Education Programme designed to broaden athletes' knowledge of the world; teach them how to live healthily; help them understand the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect; and encourage them to play active roles in the community.
Swimmer Patarawadee Kittiya (THA), who competes in the girls' 100m and 200m butterfly, said: "If there were not these activities, I would have been obliged to stay in my room and would have got really bored.
"My favourite activity was to visit the booths because you can learn about new cultures. I like drawing a lot and in some of them I could do it. I love arts and this was what I liked the most."
To encourage the athletes to participate in the non-sports activities the programme set targets like making 10 new friends. Each received an Athletes’ Challenge Passport when they arrived at the village to record their participation with small stickers. As they complete their activities they receive specially designed Games-themed gifts.
"Need two stickers and I'm done," said Kittiya. "Now I just need to meet a couple of athletes from two other countries and I'll get the bag. If I get it, I will then get the final prize - the watch. It's a big incentive."
Kadijah Maxwell (BAR), a competitor in the girls' judo -78 kg category, is also approaching the completion of her passport targets. "I have a couple more to do and I have to collect the stickers for visiting Caribbean and Oceania booths. Until now I have only received the phone case. It's excellent, you learn about different things and cultures. It's an awesome idea."
As well as making friends, the organisers have asked the Games participants to commit to the Athletes’ Oath, visit an Olympic Gallery, meet one of the roving Olympians in the village and take part in an activity away from the Village such as travelling to Pulau Ubin island in the northwest of the country to join Outward Bound activities designed to improve teamwork.
YONS
