The European University of the Atlantic campus will be the premises of the 51st session of the Spanish Olympic Academy, as it was revealed yesterday by its president, Conrado Durántez, and the director of the UNEATLANTICO Olympic Studies Center, Ruth Beitia.
The official session will start next Tuesday 19th with the opening of a photographic exhibition about Pierre de Coubertin and it will proceed with the raising of the Olympic flag. Henceforth, there will be a comprehensive program of conferences until the official closing session, that will take place on Friday 22nd and it will be attended by the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco.
The European University of the Atlantic’s chancellor, Rubén Calderón, was the one in charge of opening the act. He expressed the institution’s satisfaction with organizing this national event and highlighted that “we are proud that Ruth Beitia, the best Spanish athlete of all times, teaches at our institution and manages the Olympic Studies Center”.
Then, the president of the Spanish Olympic Academy, Conrado Durántez, spoke and defined olympism as “a phylosophy of life that has sports as the transmitter of its values. Olympism is based on three aspects: the non-discrimination, the pursuit of peace and the psycho-physical improvement. There is no sociological strength that is as powerful in all mankind as to be able to develop such peaceful convening power”.
The director of the Olympic Studies Center, Ruth Beitia, first thanked the transfer of Olympic-themed bibliographic bibliographic resources that can be consulted in the campus’ library and she stressed “the great honor it is for me to be the manager of this area of knowledge”. Beitia, who was happy about the recent award of the bronze medal at the London Games, acknowledged that “winning it (bronze medal) now takes away a certain romanticism,although Ramón Torralbo and I always knew we would have it in the end.” “I will hand it over to the Sports Museum of Santander.”, she added.
Pablo Galán, a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee, closed the event, made a summary of the conference program and praised the quality of lecturers.