14 February 2025 – With just under one year to go until the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the second edition of Winter Games Week brought together 240,000 schoolchildren from all 21 Italian regions in a nationwide celebration of sport and the Olympic values.
Held from 3 to 7 February, the initiative combined classroom learning with physical activity, inspiring the next generation by promoting physical activity and raising awareness of the Olympic and Paralympic values. As excitement builds for Milano Cortina 2026, Winter Games Week played a key role in engaging students on the journey towards next year’s showpiece event.
As the flagship initiative of Milano Cortina 2026’s Gen26 education programme, Winter Games Week has now reached almost half a million young people since launching in 2024.
Supported by the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit, Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) and Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP), Winter Games Week provides participating schools with toolkits and tips for organising their own day or week in the context of their region. Some of the highlights of this year’s edition included:
- Interactive classes on the topic of the Olympic Truce, teaching children the importance of peace and solidarity between people from different countries;
- Visits from Olympians and Paralympians to schools across Italy;
- Afternoon sports sessions to promote the importance of physical activity, including cross-country running, team sports tournaments and preparation exercises for disciplines on the Olympic Winter Games programme;
- Promotion of the Olympic and Paralympic values across schools in Italy through the screening of sports-themed films and quizzes; and
- Visits by local schools to the Milano Cortina 2026 headquarters in Milan.
[Winter Games Week] not only brings young people closer to Olympic and Paralympic values, but also actively involves them in an educational journey that promotes inclusion, respect and fairness. Diana Bianchedi – Chief of Strategic Planning and Legacy of Milano Cortina 2026 and Olympic champion in fencing.
She continued: “Schools play a central role not only during this special week, but also throughout the year, helping to foster a widespread culture of sports participation.”
In addition to the Winter Games Week activities, 3,500 students from the Lombardy region were given free tickets to Milano Cortina 2026’s short track test event at the Milano Ice Skating Arena on 14 February – giving them a taste of what’s to come next year.
OVEP ensures strong educational legacy in Italy
Alongside Winter Games Week, from 6 to 8 February, 31 teachers from 19 regions in Italy gathered in Cortina for an intensive three-day “train the trainer” workshop based on the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP).
The training was held as part of the Scuola Futura project led by the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit, with the goal of integrating the Olympic values and innovative teaching methods into the national education system.
Throughout the three-day workshop, teachers engaged in dynamic, hands-on activities inspired by the OVEP material, while local students were invited to a “Cultural Olympiad Lab” co-design workshop, where they explored creative ways to integrate sport, culture and the Olympic values into their education.
The training was designed to prepare educators to act as multipliers in their regions, promoting Olympic values-based education in schools and ensuring a meaningful educational legacy from the upcoming Games.
A couple of days earlier, IOC President Thomas Bach and Italy’s Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara – who also participated in the Cortina workshop – announced the official integration of OVEP into schools across Italy.
Designed by the IOC to promote the Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship through education, OVEP will now reach more young people than ever before, having been translated into Italian for the first time by Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026. The toolkits will be integrated into Italian school curricula, further generating awareness of and interest in the Games among young people.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will take place from 6 to 22 February 2026, and the Paralympic Winter Games from 6 to 15 March. Fans can stay informed about the latest ticketing updates and exclusive hospitality offers to secure their place at Milano Cortina 2026, where the world’s best winter athletes will compete in an unforgettable celebration of sport.
