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PANASONIC TO SPONSOR YCM+ PROGRAMMENANJING ENJOYS YOG-INSPIRED SPORTS BOOMIn June, the IOC and Worldwide TOP Partner Panasonic announced a new partnership agreement for the Young Change-Makers+ (YCM+) programme, pledging their commitment to supporting the next generation of young sport leaders around the world.The YCM+ programme is an innovative “social entrepreneurship through sport” initiative, which seeks to engage inspirational young people who have participated at the YOG as Young Change-Makers (formally Young Ambassadors) and help their development by providing funding for their grassroots sport projects in their local communities.Panasonic will provide additional funding for project grants as well as camera equipment to capture the progress of the diverse range of projects, including setting up roller-skiing programmes for underprivileged children in São Paulo (Brazil), and active and healthy living workshops in schools in Trinidad and Tobago.The 10th-largest city in the People’s Republic of China, Nanjing is continuing to harness the benefits of hosting the 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) by promoting sports participation and the Olympic values, especially among young people. In offering their students a wide range of sports to play, 210 of the city’s primary and secondary schools have been approved as “Nanjing Sunshine Sports Schools”, and from 2014 to 2016, 39 new sports clubs for youngsters were established. A YOG 2014 health programme has been rolled out in selected schools, addressing the issue of obesity and encouraging active participation in sport. It includes a range of targeted physical activities, comprehensive information about nutrition and healthy eating, as well as a series of educational brochures and workshops. Also, in February 2016, Nanjing was unveiled as the first world capital of roller sports by the Fédération International de Roller Sports (FIRS), following the success of the YOG 2014 Sports Lab, which showcased the sport.In July, following on from the YOG Working Group Recommendations, and as a result of the partnership between the IOC, the winter International Federations and the Lausanne 2020 Organising Committee, the IOC Executive Board (EB) made a number of decisions designed to ensure that more youth, more women and more innovative content will be introduced at the next Winter YOG.The sports programme at Lausanne 2020 will see gender parity achieved for the first time at a winter Olympic event, with the highest-ever number of women’s events and women competing at the Winter YOG.The IOC EB also voted to include ski mountaineering as the eighth sport at Lausanne 2020, and approved innovations in the seven other sports, including the introduction of an innovative mixed-NOC 3x3 ice hockey tournament; a women’s doubles event in luge; and the introduction of the women’s Nordic Combined ski event. Existing venues will be used for all new sports and events.GENDER EQUALITY AND MORE INNOVATION FOR LAUSANNE 2020Below Gender parity at a winter Olympic event will be achieved for the first time in LausanneAbove Young Change-Maker Vira Perederiy of Ukraine at the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016Below The YOG Nanjing 2014 inspired young people in the city24 OLYMPIC REVIEW