OLYMPIC EDUCATION

GOALS

The educational and pedagogical philosophy and practice of Olympic Education by the Olympism Culture Centre “Kostis Palamas» have the following main goals:

  • To liberate Athletic and Olympic values from the limited perception of championship, victory, and medals in every way and means possible.
  • To promote and educate on the healthy characteristics of sports, highlighting and reviving the Ancient Olympic ideals of Peace, Democracy, Freedom, Equality, and Brotherhood. It cultivates “Excellence” within the framework of “Noble Competition” and “Gentle Rivalry” to create an integrated citizen. These values and principles formed the basis of the formation of Western Civilisation Education, as they are conveyed through the teachings of the Olympic hymn of our national poet, Kostis Palamas.
  • To nurture lifelong dedication to physical and mental health for the creation of a “good and virtuous” young person with a “Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body” that cares for the common good.
  • To record and highlight the history of sports in Western Greece and, by extension, our country, while simultaneously engaging the public, particularly students, through museum information for knowledge exploration. It is a method that develops and promotes the healthy characteristics of sports within a vibrant museum environment.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

To achieve the above goals, we create specially targeted educational programs in a museum environment (Museo – educational), through which children and young people will be educated about the benefits of Olympic Education for shaping the ideal citizen, based on documented Sports-Olympic History and Research.

To achieve this purpose, the Olympism – Culture Centre and the Association of Fine Arts “Kostis Palamas,” in collaboration with the Kostis Palamas Letters Foundation, will present a dynamic education program where the exhibits and the museum’s historical information about Olympism and Olympic Education will activate and sensitise every visitor from the local, national, and international communities.
In the historical environment of the Kostis Palamas Letters Foundation, in a particularly symbolic space where the lyricist of the Olympic anthem was born, educational programs of Olympic Education will be implemented, promoting the healthy characteristics of sports by highlighting and reviving the Ancient Olympic ideals, principles, and values cultivated through the teachings of our National poet Kostis Palamas.

The continuous educational and training activities and events with informative, educational, entertaining, and pedagogical programs about Olympism and Olympic Education, learning Ancient and modern Greek History, will be accompanied by special video presentations, whose main characteristic will be learning primarily for our youth but also for the city’s residents in Patras and the broader region.

These museum-visual educational programs will be tailored to age and school level and will be based on their previous knowledge of sports, with the main goal of developing interest and demonstrating their real desire and willingness to participate in a journey of exploration and gaining new knowledge and experiences.

These new experiences will come from each athletic theme, such as running, football, swimming, volleyball, basketball, Olympic sports etc. This way, children will see each sporting its active form and essence and they will get to know about the Olympic Games, not only from their historic point of view, but also for their social, economic, physical and recreational characteristics.

This knowledge will be acquired in competitive movement conditions for each activity, and mobile experience teams with corresponding skills will be defined. This knowledge, combined with mobility experience, will enable them to identify to a large extent the characteristics of the athlete and evaluate the sport.

For all of the above, “learning” and “recreation” will be the primary tools for achieving the goal and will dominate in every educational program.”

Practical Application of Olympic Education Programs

The implementation of the above actions and events will be based on modern museum education programs with digital media, interactive images, and videos that will showcase the history of the Olympics, the composition of the Olympic anthem, and the psychophysical benefits derived from children’s participation in them. These programs will be adjusted according to the requirements of all levels of education.

Through these activities, children will come into contact with the Ancient Olympic Games, learn about the Olympians who played a significant role in the idea of the Olympics, discover the value of the Paralympic Games, and become sensitive to disability issues.

The videos will cover various topics related to:

  • The timeless and global symbols of Achaea and, by extension, Western Greece.
  • The journey of composing the Olympic Hymn and its contribution to the revival of the Olympic ideals.
  • The contribution of heroes and philosophers to the shaping of the Olympic spirit and ideals.
  • The life and poetic work of the lyricist of the Olympic anthem, Kostis Palamas.
  • The ideals of Olympism through unique Olympic moments at the modern Olympic Games.
  • The Olympic legends who made history at the modern Olympic Games.

WHERE THE PROGRAM IS TAKING PLACE

The implementation of our programs takes place at the house where the lyricist of the Olympic Hymn was born, at the “Stegi Grammaton Kostis Palamas” (241 Korinthou Street, Patra) every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am to 1:00 pm.

For any information and participation in the programs, please contact us at the phone number 2610-321653 daily from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, or send us an email at [email protected].

The programs are addressed to primary and secondary schools, sports clubs, associations, etc.