Vesella Letcheva took part in the meeting of the IOC Committee on Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. The members of the Commission held a discussion on several important topics – the role and impact of the International Olympic Committee in the context of global events, reputational risks in the coming years, and the deployment of artificial intelligence.
IOC President Thomas Bach opened the meeting. As a new member, Vessela Letcheva thanked President Bach for her trust and confirmed that she would work to strengthen the authority of the organization. For his part, the IOC president said he was glad that Letcheva is part of the Commission and thanked for Bulgaria’s consistent positions to preserve the Olympic movement.
President Bach briefed the members of the Commission on the results of his participation in the UN General Assembly. There, the IOC president stressed the importance of the Olympic truce at a time when the world is facing so much confrontation, division and polarization.
During the discussion, Vessela Letcheva said that she fully supports the IOC president’s efforts to pursue a policy of political neutrality and autonomy of sport, which are an important part of the Olympic Charter. In her statement, she also said that she identified as one of the most serious reputational risks facing the organization – the possibility of being involved as an instrument in political and military conflicts.
“The point of the Olympic movement is to unite, not to divide. These core values of ours must be at the heart of our position, which we can defend despite political pressure. We cannot stay away from political processes, but we should not participate in them. Our task is to think mainly about the athletes and to do what is possible so that they can perform at the largest sports forum in the world. I say it very convinced, because I have personally experienced it”, said Vessela Letcheva.
“From 1983 to 1984 I was in very good condition and I had every chance to win a title from Los Angeles in 1984. For political reasons, the communist leaders of the then Eastern Bloc countries decided to boycott the Games. It robbed me of my Olympic dream. I was angry because four years of my work had been erased. After that, it took a lot of effort to get back motivated to the shooting range and win medals at the next Olympics in Seoul and Barcelona.
But I’ll never forget how me and the other athletes felt in 1984. My appeal is – hopefully we will never with our decision allow an athlete to be in the same situation as we were all at the time, “she said.
Vessela Letcheva also proposed a number of initiatives. At the global level, an “Olympians without Borders” program can be developed, in which medalists from different countries can actively participate in charity activities in conflict and disaster zones.
“These people, who are role models all over the world, can give the necessary faith and hope, and also focus attention on issues that are in the news, but not in people’s hearts and minds,” Lecheva said during the four-hour meeting of the Committee on Public Affairs and Corporate Communications.
Letcheva also proposed that the IOC actively interact with organizations such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent, which have an important international role and are an example of humanism.
