the-ioc-young-leaders-programme

Application Deadline: October 21st, 2024

Applications are now open for the 2025/2028 IOC Young Leaders Programme. Young talents who are willing to make a difference and leverage the power of sport to address social challenges in their communities now have the opportunity to apply for the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Young Leaders Programme 2025-2028. The 25 selected participants will be announced in February 2025.

Since the creation of the programme in 2016, IOC Young Leaders have delivered over 160 sport-led projects promoting education and livelihoods, equality and inclusion, health, peace-building and sustainability, directly benefitting more than 37,000 people.

Eligibility

You need to be between 20 and 28 years old at the time of the application. Age limit principle: you turned or will turn 20 or 28 in 2024.
You will need to have successfully completed the 4-Week Learning Sprint (Certificate of Participation earned)
Through the application process, you will need to submit a plan for a programme / project / social business using sport as a tool for sustainable development, which you will work on if selected as an IOC Young Leader. The proposed plan will need to be based on an existing issue in your community through the lens of the UN SDGs, and strongly linked to sport-based solutions and the Olympic values.
The minimum required education level is high school diploma or equivalent.
You need to have at least one year of work experience (internships and part-time jobs count).

Requirements

Any young person aged between 20 and 28 can register by 21 October 2024 to benefit from the initial four-week Learning Sprint, comprising four virtual sessions and topic-specific reflection tasks.
After successfully completing the Learning Sprint, a candidate becomes eligible to apply for the IOC Young Leaders Programme. Applications will be open from 18 November to 16 December 2024.

Benefits

The selected participants will be supported by the IOC and a network of mentors in the development of their grassroots projects.
Each of them will receive a total amount of CHF 10,000 seed-funding delivered over the four years, as well as access to monthly expert-led workshops, global gatherings, coaching, networking opportunities and dedicated support.

Application Process

The process for selecting the IOC Young Leaders for 2025-2028 consists of two phases: the 4-Week Learning Sprint and the IOC Young Leaders Programme application process.

PHASE 1

Completion of the 4-Week Learning Sprint is the first prerequisite for a candidate to be eligible to apply for the IOC Young Leaders Programme.
Registration for the 4-Week Learning sprint opened on 25 September and will close on 21 October 2024.
The four sessions of the 4-Week Learning Sprint will take place from 22 October to 12 November: every Tuesday starting on 22 October.
Learning material of the 4-Week Learning Sprint, including session recordings can be found on the Learning Hub, available on 15 October 2024..

PHASE 2

After successfully completing the 4-Week Learning Sprint (Certificate of Participation earned), a candidate becomes eligible to apply for the IOC Young Leaders Programme.
The application process opens on 18 November and closes on 16 December 2024.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the IOC Young Leaders Programme.

Application Deadline: 31 December 2022

Launched in October 2020, the newly designed programme is seeing 25 young leaders imagine, design and realise their own sustainable sport-based social business. Over the four years, each participant will receive expert guidance on a myriad of topics from human-centred design to impact measurement and user testing, as well as seed-funding and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.

The final 25 candidates were selected from amongst 350 applicants, all with a clear passion for sport. The list of selected 25 Young Leaders is balanced in terms of universality and diversity, with 13 female and 12 male candidates, from 25 countries across 5 continents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ziF09i3nFs

The process for selecting the IOC Young Leaders for 2023-2026 consists of two stages: the 4-Week Learning Sprint and the IOC Young Leaders Programme Application Process.

Requirements

The IOC Young Leader profile:

20-28 years old
Proficiency in English
Passion for sport as a tool for social and economic change
Interest in community action
Knowledge of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Strong communicator and team player willing to learn and grow
Comfortable in managing social media, and new technologies and platforms

This programme is for you if you want to:

Turn ideation and research into real action and development of solutions
Become a more effective and stronger leader in sport and social business (or a sport and social business entrepreneur)
Drive local transformative change in and through sport
Represent and embody the Olympic values in action
Commit to a four-year entrepreneurial journey
Be both a mentee and a mentor through a comprehensive mentorship programme
Collaborate with fellow young leaders, experts, researchers, sports leaders and social business entrepreneurs

Requirements and skills:
• Knowledge of English is a must, as all learning materials and communication will be in English.
• A two-hour commitment per week is required to take part in weekly virtual sessions and to fulfil weekly tasks.
• Access to a reliable internet connection and basic technology skills are necessary to navigate four virtual sessions, fill in digital feedback forms and complete weekly tasks.
• Social media skills are required to complete weekly social media tasks.

Content:
• Participants should be interested in learning about the Olympic Movement, Olympism 365 and sport-based social business and development.
• Participants should be interested in applying for the IOC Young Leaders Programme after the Learning Sprint has been completed.

Benefits

CHF 10,000 seed-funding delivered over the four years
Monthly expert-led workshops and guidance
Access to thought-leaders and inspirational figures
Exclusive invitation to attend the bi-annual IOC Youth Summit
Invitations to attend and speak at global gatherings
Networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities
Leadership coaching
A dedicated team on hand to provide support

STAGE 1

Completion of the 4-Week Learning Sprint is the first prerequisite for a candidate to be eligible to apply for the IOC Young Leaders Programme.

Registration for the 4-Week Learning sprint opens on 15 September and closes on 20 October 2022.

The four sessions of the 4-Week Learning Sprint will take place in November: every Tuesday starting on 8 November.

Learning material of the 4-Week Learning Sprint, including session recordings can be found on the Learning Hub

STAGE 2

After successfully completing the 4-Week Learning Sprint (Certificate of Participation earned), a candidate becomes eligible to apply for the IOC Young Leaders Programme.

The application process opens on 5 December and closes on 31 December 2022.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the IOC Young Leaders Programme 2023/2026