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OLYMPIC REVIEW 43OLYMPIC PARTNERS VITAL IN DELIVERY OF OLYMPIC AGENDA 2020Collaborations with Olympic Partners in areas such as sustainability, technology, youth engagement and athlete support are vital for delivering successful Olympic Games, and they are proving equally critical in the IOC’s implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020.For example, Alibaba became a Worldwide TOP Partner in January 2017 and is already making a major contribution through the creation of a global e-commerce platform for Olympic stakeholders, in line with recommendation 34 of Olympic Agenda 2020, to engage fans seeking offi cial Olympic licensed products.“We’re proud to support Olympic Agenda 2020, using our innovations and technologies to help evolve the Olympic Games for the digital era,” said Alibaba’s founder and executive chairman Jack Ma.Meanwhile, Worldwide TOP Partner P&G has worked with the IOC to promote gender equality, in line with recommendation 11 of Olympic Agenda 2020: empowering women through sport. Through its successful campaign Always #KeepPlaying #LikeAGirl, P&G partnered with 30 Olympic athletes to boost girls’ confi dence and inspire them to stay passionate about sports.The Olympic Partners’ support will remain critical as the IOC looks to the future. Toyota is helping in this regard by working with Organising Committees until 2024 to provide sustainable mobility solutions for the Games – while the announcement of a long-term partnership with Omega until 2032 will help ensure the provision of innovative timing solutions that future Games organisers can rely on.LeftFour members of the Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016BelowThe IOC’s long-term partnership with Worldwide TOP Partner Omega will provide future Games with cutting-edge timing solutionsprogrammes. In addition to enhancing its work with internationally recognised organisations and NGOs, Olympic Agenda 2020 has led to an evolution of the IOC’s Sport for Hope programme, promoting sport, education and social development in developing countries.Prior to the approval of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC opened two multi-functional Sport for Hope centres – one in Lusaka (Zambia) in 2010 and another in Port-au-Prince (Haiti) in 2014 – in order to provide elite athletes with state-of-the-art training facilities, and young people and local communities with positive sport and lifestyle opportunities. As a result of Olympic Agenda 2020, both these centres continue to thrive, with the IOC working with local partners to implement sustainable operational models. Among those to have already benefi ted from the facilities is Zambian sprinter Sydney Siame, who won 100m gold at the YOG Nanjing 2014 and competed at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London.“So many Zambian athletes are benefi ting from the Sport for Hope programme, and I am one of the benefi ciaries,” he says. “That’s where I train, that’s where I wake up and I do everything there. “The facilities are very good. Many people are progressing. Not only in athletics, but also in all sports there – football, hockey, badminton. I am happy to be at that centre and many Zambians are enjoying it there too. You can see there is lots of talent there.” ■OLYMPIC AGENDA 2020