The Young Ambassador Programme was developed by the International Olympic Committee to show young athletes and other teenagers what the Culture & Education Programme (CEP) is all about and to generate enthusiasm for the project. It offers 33 young adults aged 18 to 25 the chance to act as ambassadors of their respective National Olympic Committees (NOC). These young adults will have the opportunity to work with the IOC in order to inspire young people all around the world to practise sport and adopt the Olympic Values. A seminar will be held prior to the Games to inform the Ambassadors about the Youth Olympic Games and the accompanying CEP, enabling them to present and promote the idea and values behind the Games and the CEP in schools and clubs as well as through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. During the Games themselves, the Young Ambassadors will form part of their NOC delegation and mentor the athletes on what it means to be an Olympian and how aspiring stars should behave on and off the field of competition.

For the 1 ^st Winter Youth Olympic Games, 33 Young Ambassadors from around the globe have been selected to help the athletes participating in the Games discover and live the Olympic Values Excellence, Respect and Friendship. These Ambassadors were invited to Innsbruck at the start of September to take part in a training seminar including workshops, discussions, team-building activities and plenty morebesides. Indeed, if there was one thing that was missing during the Young Ambassador Seminar it was the chance to sleep!

As well as spreading the spirit of the Youth Olympic Games, the Young Ambassadors’ main task is to prepare their athletes for the Innsbruck 2012 Culture & Education Programme (CEP). Duringthe Seminar, the 33 youngsters got an exclusive preview of the Culture & Education Programme and had the chance to try out some of the CEP activities which will be on offer during the Games in January 2012. However, the journey to Innsbruck alone proved a true odyssey for some of the Young Ambassadors. For example, Sarah from New Zealand needed no fewer than five flights and 21 hoursto get from the tip of the Southern Hemisphere to the regional capital of Tyrol. And with Ambassadors representing everywhere from Australia to Chile and Canada to Japan in attendance, she certainly wasn’t the only one who had jetted half way around the world to be in Innsbruck for the Young Ambassador Seminar.

After such long, arduous journeys, theofficial Welcome Dinner – complete with accordion player and dancers performing the traditional Austrian ‘Schuhplattler’ dance – was the perfect chance for the Young Ambassadors to shake off any remaining jet-lag and immerse themselves in Tyrolean culture. Just as during the Seminar itself, the guests at the Welcome Dinner were encouraged to get involved at every opportunity – not least on the dance floor! After seeing their moves, we reckon that Lea from Slovenia and Aliona from Lithuania must have Tyrolean roots – after all, how else could they have learned all the right dance steps so quickly? Straight after the Welcome Dinner the group headed out for the first ‘venue tour’ of the weekend – an expedition into Innsbruck’s nightlife via the city’s main bars. Suffice to say, much fun was had by all!

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