While enforcing the zero tolerance policy against threats such as doping, unethical behaviour and corruption, Jacques Rogge must also ensure the financial stability of the Olympic Movement so that it can contribute to the development of sport worldwide.
By profession Jacques Rogge is an orthopaedic surgeon, but he gave up those activities a long time ago to dedicate his time to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Having been brought up in a family that took part in and loved sports, he started practising sports at an early age. He turned to sailing as they were living close to the sea, and he quickly started to take part in competitions.
“I must say I was a modest athlete,” he says, although he competed in the sport of sailing at the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968, Munich in 1972 and Montreal in 1976 and was also a member of the Belgian national rugby team.
After Montreal, he assumed his sporting career was over but he was asked to join the administrative council of the Belgian National Olympic Committee.
“I discovered what is involved in making sport possible, finding the money, coaches, the structure, identifying talent – all this fascinated me,” he explains. He quickly became Chef de Mission of the Belgian Olympic team. In 1989, he became president of the Belgian Olympic Committee, and in 2001 he was elected IOC President.
Olympic Congress in 2009
“You are the president of a global organisation with a large number of stakeholders. What is your schedule for the next few years?”
“We will be preparing for the election of the host city for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. This election will take place in Guatemala City in July 2007. Besides this, we will be preparing for the Olympic Congress that I have decided to stage in 2009, which is a good time to reflect on the future of the Olympic Movement,” says Jacques Rogge.
Next year, he will monitor the implementation of the Olympic Games Study Commission’s recommendations to control the cost, size and complexity of the Games without affecting their quality. He is pleased to see that a lot of progress has been made in this area.
Needless to say, a lot of efforts are deployed to help Organising Committees during the seven years leading up to the staging of the Olympic Games. For this purpose, the IOC created the Olympic Games Department and put in place a full range of management tools, such as an efficient knowledge-transfer programme and an Olympic Games Global Impact study that looks at the legacy of the Games.
“The IOC works on an on-going basis with the Organising Committees and there are periods when we oversee the preparations of four Olympic Games simultaneously,” he explains.
Olympic solidarity
The IOC also carries out a series of activities that are often overshadowed by the attention given to the Games and are therefore less well known to the general public.
“An example of this is the promotion of the Olympic values through the work carried out by Olympic Solidarity and commissions such as ‘Women and Sport’ and ‘Sport and Environment’, and the joint efforts made with the United Nations to help refugees and raise awareness of diseases like AIDS among the sporting community. This is an important part of the Olympic Movement,” says Jacques Rogge.
“The IOC is supposed to be managed with a reasonable economy but with no owners. Its decision-making body is chosen from among its interest groups and its driving force is a set of ideals. How is it possible to manage to get such a complex organisation to move in one common direction?”
“Of course, we all share the same goal, that of staging successful Olympic Games,” says Jacques Rogge. He adds: “In order to achieve this, the IOC meets all of its stakeholders on a regular basis in order to exchange ideas with those who live sports on a daily basis, to acknowledge the progress that has been made in many areas, and also to grasp the issues that need to be addressed and in which the IOC can help.”
As an example he mentions the IOC Executive Board’s convention this April in Seoul where a range of Olympic bodies held meetings.
“It was interesting to see the sense of unity that came out of these discussions with the various stakeholders of the Olympic Movement and the progress that has been made in the two defined key areas: the revision of the Olympic Programme and the Olympic Games Study Commission,” says Jacques Rogge, continuing: “The understanding and acceptance of both concepts clearly shows a change in mindset that is key to the future evolution of the Olympic Movement and to maintaining the magic of the Olympic Games.”
The environment is a third dimension
“In recent years, the IOC has focused on the environmental aspect when arranging the Olympic Games. As an example, the Games in Beijing are expected to be the most environmentally friendly Olympic Games ever. Can the IOC be a catalyst in creating positive environmental developments – even after the Games - at the places where the Games are held?”
“The Olympic Games are above all about sports and the athletes, but they can lead to several important environmental outcomes if they are planned, managed and conducted in a way which minimises adverse environmental impacts,” says Jacques Rogge, continuing: “The IOC is very committed to its responsibility to promote sustainable development and towards the environment as the third dimension of Olympism, alongside sport and culture. The IOC has for instance been working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for over ten years.”
‘Green games’ a reality
After Agenda 21 was created at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the IOC decided in 1999 to establish its own Agenda 21 to encourage its members to participate actively in sustainable development. With this in mind, the IOC ensures that the Olympic Games take place in conditions that take sustainability into account and aim to put sport at the service of humanity.
The Games can also be used to provide sustainable environmental legacies, such as rehabilitated and revitalised sites, increased environmental awareness, and improved environmental policies and practices. Positive outcomes and legacies such as these are being achieved throughout the processes leading up to the Games and through IOC requirements and policies. This means that the “Green Games” concept is increasingly becoming a reality.
Humanitarian involvement
“The IOC also wants to contribute to the peace aspect. It is a global player in promoting social interaction between people. It builds strategic partnership alliances with other great global players, such as the UN and the Red Cross. What are your thoughts about this?”
“The sports movement, which is an integral part of society, is both affected by and concerned about society’s main social and economic issues and contributes to this global effort through its main field of expertise: sport. More than ever, sport is a universal language and plays the role of a catalyst for improving the quality of life and sense of well-being in today’s society,” says Jacques Rogge.
The IOC has developed a comprehensive programme using sports development as a tool for local socio-economic development and for humanitarian assistance; it implements and supports numerous projects at field level, in cooperation with organisations that specialise in humanitarian aid and National Olympic Committees, in order to improve the lives of under-privileged communities worldwide.
Review of the Olympic programme
“How will you further develop the IOC so that it preserves the Olympic ideals while at the same time developing in line with the rest of society?”
“The IOC acts as the guardian of the Olympic Games; this means not only ensuring the quality of the world’s greatest sporting event, but also acting as a custodian of the inspirational values the Games convey to all those they touch,” explains Jacques Rogge. In this role, the IOC follows a strategic policy to maintain and develop the excellence of the Games and to ensure they continue to inspire future generations.
A key element of this is the Olympic programme, or the menu of sports which make up the Games. The IOC has put in place a mechanism which allows the programme to be reviewed and, if necessary, changed so that it remains fresh and relevant for the youth of tomorrow.
“We reached a landmark in Singapore last year, when the Olympic programme was reviewed and the IOC members made history by voting for change for the first time in almost 70 years,” he says.
“In the same way as DNV, the IOC is strongly dependent on its credibility and international standing. Political and financial considerations must always be balanced against sporting considerations and the Olympic ideals. What are the greatest challenges for the IOC’s president as an international top executive in such a setting?”
“Two of the IOC’s primary missions are to ensure the regular celebration of the Olympic Games and to oppose any political or commercial abuse of sport or athletes. Ensuring the independence of the Olympic Movement is important to us. The challenge lies in the fact that we must serve the interest of sports while understanding the world in which we live,” says Jacques Rogge, underlining that we must also not forget that the Olympic Movement needs the help and support of governments in some instances, such as for security at the Olympic Games or in the fight against doping. At the same time, the IOC relies on its commercial partners to provide the funding necessary to promote sport worldwide.
“My role is to ensure that the right balance is found and that the interests of sport and the Olympic Games are preserved,” concludes the IOC president.