Experts from around the world will gather in Beijing next week to develop proposals for the wider integration of education and culture in the Olympic Movement when the World Forum on Education and Culture opens.

The Forum is organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in collaboration with the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee, and in partnership with UNESCO. IOC President Jacques Rogge will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

In plenary sessions and parallel sessions, the Forum will elaborate on the cultural and educational perspective of the Olympic Games by defining opportunities and tools to implement these ideas, the IOC said in a press release.

The Forum, which runs from Oct. 22-24, will also pay great attention to the roles of Universities and Olympic Academies, and how to network in Olympic studies.

Among the speakers are IOC members with broad experience in these fields, such as Sergey Bubka, Frank Fredericks and Robert Ctvrtlik.
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2006)