Tanzania seeks to keep Coubertin’s Olympic legacy alive

DAR ES SALAAM: EFFORTS are in motion for the establishment of the National Pierre de Coubetin Committee in Tanzania that will be mandated to keep Pierre’s legacy alive.

This has been unearthed during a press briefing in Dar es Salaam today by Mr Muharam Mchume, who is the only current Tanzanian individual member of the International Pierre de Coubertin Committee (CIPC).

Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, also known as Pierre de Coubertin, was a French co-founder of the International Olympic Committee and its second president. He is known as the father of the modern Olympic Games.

“We are progressing well with preparations to establish our own National Pierre de Coubertin Committee, Tanzania which will play a vital role to upkeep his strong Olympic values.

“As an educator, I believe in the ideas of Pierre de Coubertin in the promotion and progress of sports as a valuable tool for character development, social change, and transcultural integration.

“The establishment of this committee in our country will be a true indication that we firmly respect the vision he had as far as making the Olympic Games accessible and enjoyable to everyone is concerned.

“Pierre de Coubertin also insisted on education through sports, which goes hand in hand with cultural integration, and all these are what we Tanzanians cherish about,” he says.

Again, Mr Mchume, the Tanzanian volleyball legend, insists that Tanzania already has a Kiswahili translated Olympic memoirs book that was launched in April last year by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which enables many people to easily appreciate the Olympics.

However, being the country’s individual member of CIPC, Mr Mchume, on September 2nd this year, attended CIPC’s General Assembly to mark 88 years since the passing of Pierre de Coubertin.

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Around 60 members from across the world joined the Zoom meeting whose main focus was preparations for Milano 2026 Winter Olympic Games, and for the first time, four distinguished organisations known as ‘Four Musketeers’ will join forces.

They are Panathlon International, International Fair Play Committee (CIFP), International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH), and International Pierre de Coubertin Committee (CIPC).