04 February 2025 – The Winter Games Weeks have already reached nearly half a million young people, offering them the opportunity to experience Olympism through educational and interactive activities, made possible by the educational resources provided by Milano Cortina 2026’s “Gen26” initiative.
As Milano Cortina 2026 gets ready to mark one year to go until the next Olympic Winter Games begin on 6 February, the Organising Committee has launched the second edition of the “Winter Games Week” in Italy, which will run from 3 until 7 February.
With the support of the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit, Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP), students from all over the country will learn the values of sports, culture and respect – as well as being given the chance to participate in winter sports.
This is part of Milano Cortina 2026’s wider “Gen26” education programme, which has already engaged close to one million students through various initiatives across Italy. The Winter Games Week is one component of this, with the first edition in 2024 involving more than 230,000 schoolchildren from all 21 Italian regions. This year’s event is set to be even bigger and better as it aims to reach over 240,000 youngsters.
Sports participation legacy in schools
The impressive participation figures from last year’s event were backed up by a survey that analysed its impact, revealing that 82 per cent of schools that participated have continued to use the educational resources that were created for the week.
The survey also showed that 61 per cent of schools have increased their physical activity offering as a result of Winter Games Week, while 44 per cent of students who previously did not engage in sport have since participated.
For this year’s edition, primary and secondary schools, as well as youth associations from all over Italy, will receive teaching material and advice for organising sessions to promote sports, exercise and Olympic values among students.
Some examples of activities that are taking place this year include school sports programmes, including winter-sports competitions and visits by athletes, sports science programmes, Parasports activities and various educational initiatives focused on topics such as the Olympic values and the Olympic Truce.
The Organising Committee has also opened the doors to its headquarters in Milan to pupils from selected schools, raising awareness about the Games and the importance of sport for all.
“Already creating a legacy”
The global ambition of the Education Programme, Gen26, is to bring a new energy and inspire young Italian generations through the Olympic and Paralympic values, fostering inclusion, fair play, friendship and respect. We also aim at leaving a lasting educational legacy, shaping future generations with fantastic toolkit released in Italian for educators and all young Italian students.
Domenico De Maio, Milano Cortina 2026’s Education & Culture Director
Olympic values workshops set to inspire Italian teachers
As part of its efforts to build excitement among young people for the Games, Milano Cortina 2026 also announced that the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) toolkit has been translated into Italian by the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation and will be distributed across the country by the Ministry of Education and Merit, and CONI.