Inspired by London 2012

In the summer of 2012, thousands of spectators from all over the world will gather in London’s Olympic Park as Spanish-speaking athletes take their place alongside French, Mandarin, Portuguese, Hindi and English speakers.

They may not share a language, but  what they do have in common – apart from the fire in their bellies to win – is a set of shared beliefs; a sort of code they are all expected to live by. These are the Olympic and Paralympic Values.

Olympic athletes are expected to commit themselves to three core Values:

• friendship
• excellence
• respect

and Paralympic athletes strive to exemplify the Values of:

• equality
• courage
• determination
• inspiration.
   

Statistically, very few of the children and young people who will enjoy cooking these international dishes with you will make it onto an Olympic or Paralympic podium. However, they can all get involved in the excitement and inspiration of London 2012 by taking part in activities that encourage them to, ‘live the Values’ and understand what they can mean in their own lives. Extending the hand of friendship to visitors or new arrivals in school for example, is an unspoken but universal language, and can make a huge impact on children’s lives and on their communities.

Finding out about different national dishes and the cultures from which they are derived is not only interesting; it is also a sign of respect. The same can be said of learning a few ‘tasty’ words and greetings. It could even be argued that for some children the act of tasting new and different foods is quite courageous!

Get Set - the official education programme of London 2012 has been built around the three Olympic Values and the four Paralympic Values. By taking part in Let’s Get Cooking Around the World you are already helping young people to feel involved in – and inspired by – the Games, and the Values that underpin them.

Taking part in Let’s Get Cooking Around the World also means that your school could become a member of the Get Set network. The Get Set network is a special ‘community’ of schools and colleges that are recognised and rewarded for demonstrating their commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic Values.

You could make a start by teaching the students the Values words in the Lets Get Cooking Around the World languages. You could then include these ‘global Values’ words in your special events such as Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week, International Olympic Day, a fair trade or enterprise event – or even as a feature of your school display boards.

Just use your Get Set blog to tell the London 2012 Education team what you’ve been doing, and you will already have taken the first step towards the Get Set network community.