8.A. 49 EC 06 / 09 (Original : French) 49th ANOC EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING Lausanne, 14 June 2009 ----------- REPORT BY THE ASSOCIATION OF THE NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES OF AFRICA (ANOCA) 49th ANOC E.C. Meeting – Lausanne, 14 June 2009 – Report by the Vice-President for Africa 1 Presented by Int. General Lassana PALENFO President Mr President, Distinguished Members of the Executive Council, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, The present report covers the period since the previous session of our Council held in Beijing, China on April 5, 2008. Several major events marked the life of our Association during this long inter-session, in particular : - the celebration of the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing, China, where Africa made obvious progress compared to previous editions, - the unexpected resignation of ANOCAs Secretary General, as he was otherwise elected as deputy to the Peoples National Assembly of Angola, - the partnership agreement reached between ANOCA and the UNWTO-STEP Foundation, with a view to endow each Olympafrica centre in our Continent with a small library within the framework of the Foundations "Thank-You-Small-Library" project. - the dissolution by the African Union (AU) of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, which as a consequence opens up new perspectives for ANOCA in the organization of the African Games. - the withdrawal of Gambia as host country of the African Games 2011. Ending on a sad note, this inter-session was marked by the passing away of the first President of ANOCA, Dr. Anani MATTHIA, IOC Member in Togo, in December last, and of Mr Ram Ruhee, IOC Member in Mauritius and Secretary General of his NOC. ANOCA sent in due time a message of condolences to the family of its late President and to the NOC of Togo, and delegated the President of the NOC of Benin to represent us at the funeral. A similar message was sent to the family of the late Ram Ruhee. AT CONTINENTAL LEVEL The celebration of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad held in Beijing, China from the 8th to the 24th of August 2008 obviously was the star event in this inter-session. The Games of Beijing met with phenomenal success. A record number of NOCs took part in the Games, more countries (87) won medals, the participation of women was increased, 132 Olympic records and 32 world records were beaten. With 40 medals captured, of which 12 gold, Africa registered in Beijing, China its best performance ever in the history of the Games. These results are eloquent enough and speak for themselves - 40 medals reaped (against 25 in Sydney and Athens), of which 12 Olympic titles (against 9 in Sydney and Athens). As usual, Athletics took the lions share with 10 gold medals out of twelve, the other two gold medals going to swimmers : Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe who captured the gold in the 200 m backstroke, and Oussama Mellouli from Tunisia who won the mens freestyle 1.500 m. 49th ANOC E.C. Meeting – Lausanne, 14 June 2009 – Report by the Vice-President for Africa 2 Beijing 2008 was an opportunity for Kenya to build up power, emerging as the first African nation with a total of 14 medals (5 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze). Ethiopia was runner up with 7 medals (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze). Ethiopias top titles are due to exceptional athletes who achieved a double victory in the 5,000 m et 10,000 m : they are Kenissa Bekele in the mens events and Tirunesh Dibaba for women. The talent of a single athlete from Zimbabwe, namely Kirsty Coventry, competing in Swimming, enabled her country, to achieve a 3rd African rank with a capital of 4 medals (1 gold, 3 silver). Among other motives of satisfaction for Africa in this XXIX Olympiad, there is also Football. Besides Nigerias 2nd place in a fight to the finish (finally going down 0 : 1 to Argentina in the final), the other two competitors, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, fought gallantly up to the quarter finals. Finally, Cameroons astounding woman competitor in the Triple Jump, Françoise Mbango, managed to remain at the very top, improving the Olympic record as she landed 15.39 m away from the take-off board. It is also to be noted that new countries emerged in the table of medals, for instance Togo, thanks to Benjamin Boukpetis bronze in the paddle sport discipline. Mauritius, thanks to a bronze won by Bruno Julie in Boxing (under 54kg) also made its entry in the list of medals. And so did Sudan with a silver won in the mens 800 m thanks to Ismaïl. Egypts Pharaohs saved their heads thanks to the bronze captured by Hesban Mesbah in the mens Judo / 90kg event. South Africa had to do with Khotso Mokoenas silver won in the mens Long Jump. Having overcome conditions of preparation that were not really adequate in all parts, Africas representatives are to be congratulated in view of their performance in Beijing, China. Fine-tuning operations that seem feasible indeed must be foreseen with the perspective of keeping up, even improving this performance in four years time in London, England. Overall Table of Medals Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 China 51 21 28 100 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Kenya 5 5 4 14 18 Ethiopia 4 1 2 7 38 Zimbabwe 1 3 0 4 52 Cameroon 1 0 0 1 52 Tunisia 1 0 0 1 61 Nigeria 0 1 3 4 65 Algeria 0 1 1 2 65 Morocco 0 1 1 2 71 South Africa 0 1 0 1 71 Sudan 0 1 0 1 81 Egypt 0 0 1 1 81 Mauritius 0 0 1 1 81 Togo 0 0 1 1 49th ANOC E.C. Meeting – Lausanne, 14 June 2009 – Report by the Vice-President for Africa 3 All African NOCs, out of the 204 world-wide, took part in the Beijing Games, representing 7.9% of the total for the whole world. - Africa had the highest number (23) of female flag bearers, representing 44% of African NOCs. - In the Chefs de Mission category, Africa had the highest number of women (6) heading their delegation. - African NOCs had the widest gap in the number of male / female participants, despite the fact that they had the highest number of woman flag bearers. - All continents increased their count of medals except Europe. As to the Paralympic Games also held in Beijing from the 6th to the 17th of September 2008, African countries such as Algeria, Tunisia and South Africa took up the whole screen, reaping an unprecedented booty of medals. INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL The Secretary Generals unexpected resignation on November 12th last was naturally the most salient fact under this chapter. He gave instructions to the Secretary, through a telephone call, that she should inform the President and Executive Committee Members that due to his mandate as Deputy of the Angolan nation, he would henceforth be unable to carry out his functions as member of the ANOCA Executive Committee, and by way of consequence as Secretary General. This resignation, the second in the history of ANOCA, invites us to a reflection on our founding texts. Should such personalities be elected or appointed as it is the case in other organizations similar to ours ? That is the question ! In any case, since that resignation, the Executive Committee has created an Ad Hoc Committee heading the Secretariat until the end of the mandate. Otherwise, it is a comforting fact that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recently took measures concerning ANOCAs diplomatic accreditation in Nigeria. Put briefly, the Headquarters Agreement signed between ANOCA and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is now in force. The report hereafter will cover the following chapters in this order : - INSTITUTIONAL MEETINGS - LIFE OF THE NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES - INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - CONCLUSION INSTITUTIONAL MEETINGS The inter-session was rich in and busy with institutional meetings. ANOCA held meetings of its constitutive entities (General Assembly, Executive Committee, specialized Commissions, etc.) at regular intervals. In particular, the following meetings were held : - The Extraordinary General Assembly held in Beijing, China on April 4th, 2008, on the occasion of the ANOC General Assembly. - Informal meeting of the Executive Committee in Beijing, on April 7th. - XVI ANOC General Assembly in Beijing, during which the following Members of ANOCA were distinguished with the ANOC Merit Award : Mr Mustapha Berraf (Algeria), Mr Moussa Aggrey (Chad), Mr Jacob Gbeti (Central African Republic), Mr Gustavo Conceiçao (Angola), Mr Abdoulie Touray (Gambia). 49th ANOC E.C. Meeting – Lausanne, 14 June 2009 – Report by the Vice-President for Africa 4 Other Meetings in which ANOCA took an active part : - Meeting of the IOC International Relations Commission, of which the President of ANOCA is a full member, held on May 30th in Lausanne. - 48th International Session of Young Participants in the I.O.A. in Athens, Greece on June 12th last, during which the President of ANOCA was distinguished with the KNOSSOS Award for his contribution to the development of the Olympic Movement throughout the world. He was accompanied by another African IOC Member, namely Mr Sam Ramsamy, who received the Olympia Award. - Round Table on "Sport, Peace and Development" for the countries of the Great Lakes Region, organized from the 8th to the 10th of September 2008 in Zanzibar by UNESCO. Besides a presentation made by the President of ANOCA, the latter also acted as Moderator for one of the most attended and acclaimed sessions. - Meeting of Olympic Solidarity Commission in Acapulco, Mexico on October 8th, where the President of ANOCA was the single representative for ANOCA in the absence of the Secretary General.