National Olympic Committees (NOC) exist in various countries of the world. NOC are one of the three constituents of the Olympic Movement together with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Sport Federations. The mission of the NOCs is to develop, promote and protect the Olympic Movement in their respective countries, in accordance with the Olympic Charter. Today there are 204* NOCs. *Kuwait Olympic Committee is suspended as of 1 January 2010.
Last March Japan was devastated by one of the worst natural disasters in the country’s history. The earthquake and tsunami killed more than 15 thousand people and left the nation in a state of despair. But for the next week, a group of 13 children caught up in the tragedy will be able to forget about the hardships back home while they’re special guests at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Young people enjoying sports in the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Zambia. The centre is the flagship project in the IOC’s Sport for Hope programme and offers a wide range of sport activities and educational courses to the local community, including everyone from school children to Olympic hopefuls.