Youth Olympics educate kids on the environment

It’s the first ever Youth Olympics this year. There’s a clear message going round about going green. After all the climate will affect the athletes future. Panasonic has been a partner of the Olympics since 1988 and is now also a partner of the Youth Olympics. This is what Mr Goh Kee Nguan, CEO of Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee had to say on the issue “Having been associated with the Olympic Games since 1988, Panasonic has now extended its commitment to the first-ever Youth Olympic Games and will be working closely with us to develop environment initiatives and education programmes for Singapore 2010”. That quote was taken from his speech put up on the Youth Olympic Games website on Earth day on the 22 April 2010.

Some of the initiatives that have been put into place include Living Green @ YOV which is a programme that tries to encourage athletes and officials who live in the village for the duration of the games to “adopt environmentally-friendly habits through interesting activities.” SYOGOC is also working with organizations to reduce littering on the site by “promoting a stronger public sense of social and environmental consciousness, and encouraging people to practice proper waste disposal methods.” The Youth Olympic Games point out there targets for environmental protection on their Framework and Programmes page in the About Us section of their website.

They also point out on a separate page ways that anyone visiting the games can be environmentally-friendly. These include taking public transport to Singapore 2010 events, keeping Singapore litter-free, saving water and energy, practicing the 3 Rs (Reduce, Re-use and Recycle) and to appreciate any plants around you. NParks which is responsible for looking after Garden City or City in a Garden. This is a project that involves growing and maintaining the roadside greenery around Singapore.

The SYOGOC has also partnered up with HortPark which is a 23-hectare park in the south west of Singapore. This is in an attempt to “share green initiatives” and good green habits with athletes. They will have the chance to explore HortParks’s gardens, learn about different plants and find out about the affects of “human intervention on the ecosystem.” All these events will go on in the twelve days the games are on and will hopefully make some of the athletes think twice before doing something harmful to the environment. It would If I was in that position.