Geographical Association

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will take place from 12-28 February.

The symbol of the games is a figure called an Inukshuk. These stone figures are found throughout the circumpolar world, and are used for navigation in a landscape which often has very few landmarks.

We're unable to display the logo here for copyright reasons, but you can find out more about the Vancouver 2010 emblem 'Ilanaaq' on the official website.

The official Canadian School Portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is called /EDU and can be found at www.vancouver2010.com/EDU. Here teachers can access resources that connect existing curricula to the 2010 Winter Games.

/EDU features five main themes: sport, culture, sustainability, the Olympic Movement and the Paralympic Movement, plus the overarching theme of global citizenship.

At /EDU teachers can:

• find resources related to school curricula across Canada, many of which can be adapted for use in the UK
• find ways to connect students to the 2010 Winter Games
• share innovative projects already happening in their schools with the wider world

The Feature Programs area includes 28 sets of resources, events and activities that can be used across a wide range of subject areas and aim to promote the development of sport, culture and sustainability.

Project Showcase currently has 118 projects based around the Winter Olympics submitted by schools. Projects include an 'Adopt a Country' link up between schools in Canada and the Netherlands, creating flags to commemorate the Olympians and a play devised by students called 'Our Journey to the Olympic Games'.

The /EDU page How Do the Games Relate to My Curriculum? provides some useful examples for teachers wanting to engage in curriculum making based around the Winter Olympics. Some suggested curriculum links include:

• The nations and peoples of the world who will be represented at the 2010 Winter Games
• Human physical function and capacity, athletics and the value of active participation in sport and fitness activities
• Positive social values (such as voluntarism, teamwork, self-sacrifice and fair play)
• The factors that contribute to personal, lifelong success in any field (such as setting goals, perseverance, healthy competition, supportive relationships and strategic thinking)
• The role of the media
• The use of technology (for example, to legitimately enhance performance and capacity, to record and measure, to monitor and ensure competitors' adherence to fair play)

Some more 'geographical' ideas include:

• Globalisation - connections that are made between the venues and the rest of the world
• Economic stimulus - what will be the 'legacy' of the Games in the area, and the longer-term implications for employment?
• How does the 'physical geography' of the area make it a good location for the relevant sports?

The Canadian Olympic Schools Program provides a range of resources for teachers and students including project packs, historical information and games.

One project pack which will be of particular interest to geography teachers is Destination Vancouver/Whistler which challenges students to develop the ultimate youth travel package to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Their team must design the brochure for an action-packed tour package that features the best sites and sounds that Whistler and Vancouver have to offer. This project might also be relevant to those teaching a Travel and Tourism specification.

Please note: you must register to download project packs, but this is free and easy.

Sustainability will be a key element of the Vancouver Games as hundreds of athletes from around the world gather and compete in such a fragile upland environment.

The organisers are also hoping for a carbon neutral Games as outlined in the Carbon Management Program video. A fact sheet on carbon management is available from the official website.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will take place primarily on the traditional and shared territories of the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, known as the Four Host First Nations.

The Aboriginal people have partnered with the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) in order to ensure that the Games are successful and that the Nations' languages, traditions, protocols and cultures are meaningfully acknowledged, respected, and represented in the planning, staging and hosting of the Games.

However, the Vancouver Olympics have caused a divide in opinion among the Aboriginals. Some believe the Games represent an excellent opportunity to educate the world about their culture while others think the money could be much better spent on the financial, social and health problems facing many Aboriginal people in Canada.

Links

Four Host First Nations

Map showing First Nation Traditional Territories and Olympic Venues

Aboriginal Participation - Vancouver 2010 website

Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Education Resources

BBC News - 'Aboriginal Canadians divided over Vancouver Olympics'

Geography teacher Ollie Bray is publishing a series of ten Vancouver 2010 teaching ideas and resources on his website. Materials added so far include:

• Winter Olympic clip art, lesson plans, worksheets and other resources
• Vancouver Olympic Venues in Google Earth
• Torch Relay Interactive Map
• Resources to teach place

Keep checking www.olliebray.com for further updates.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games - Official Website

Vancouver 2010 Education Program (/EDU)

British Olympic Association - Team GB Vancouver 2010

Inukshuk information from Canadian Encyclopedia

Inukshuk information from Wikipedia

Tourism Vancouver

Olympic.org - official website of the Olympic Movement

BBC Sport - Vancouver 2010

BBC News - 'Vancouver 2010: Going for Green?'

BBC News - 'Aboriginal Canadians divided over Vancouver Olympics'