All young people deserve a chance at sport.

Luther Mamogobo, an 18 year-old International Inspiration Young Leader from South Africa blogs about speaking at the International Olympic Committee conference in Durban.

I was in a room filled with people who have a concentration of talent, ideas, intelligence, experience and passion for young people, sport and cultural development around the world. These people were ministers, heads of organisations and affiliations and all other types of delegates you can think of.
I was privileged to attend a conference where you can easily be inspired and dream of a better future. If there was a language you didn’t understand, all you had to do was slip on the headphones and there you had it – your own private interpreter.
Young people from all over the world deserve a chance at sport. As you know some of us are really good at sport and some of us would rather watch TV! But the truth is that there is a sport for everyone, even those of us who are less able to participate and the even bigger truth is that sport is an international language and everyone and anyone should learn to speak it, especially young people.
You can get so much more out of sport than just sweating! You can learn to work in a team, care for others, be responsible, be goal-orientated, strive for excellence, vigilance, make and take orders, lead and follow all at the same time!
On a personal level I learnt that sport doesn’t care where you come from, what the colour of your skin is, rich or poor, or even where you are going in life. It really is the perfect addiction and it’s good for you. So why not give it a go!

International Inspiration

International Inspiration is a direct response to the London 2012 bid team’s promise to ‘reach young people all around the world through sport and connect them to the inspirational power of the Games so they are inspired to choose sport’.
International Inspiration aims to enrich the lives of 12 million children of all abilities in schools and communities in 20 countries through the power of high quality and inclusive physical education, sport and play. It is the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games than an international legacy on this scale has been conceived and implemented.