Xinhua News
Scholarships were awarded to six young athletes from different NOCs here on Friday as part of the legacy of the first-ever Youth Olympic Games.
The scholarships, presented by Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew as part of the country’s commitment to the Olympic Movement, aim to encourage the pursuit of excellence and the forging of friendships among young generations. Six fully-funded scholarships to the Singapore Sports School were given to athlete-students from Botswana, Guyana, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore and Thailand.
Some 30 National Olympic Committees (NOC) submitted a total of 54 applications for the scholarships between early this year before the short-listed candidates were invited to Singapore for interviews in May and June, and recipients were informed of their selection in July.
“Singapore is a small open and cosmopolitan city with no natural resources. The key determinant of our future is our people – in particular, our young people,” said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, who funded the scholarships with operational support from the Singapore Sports School, the Singapore National Olympic Council, the Olympic Solidarity and the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee.
“This is why we invest so heavily in education, transmitting values that have stood the test of time, enabling our young people to reach across cultural boundaries and equipping them to seize opportunities in a rapidly changing world. These scholarships represent our commitment to share these opportunities with top talented students from the Olympic Movement,” he added.
“Singaporean youth will benefit from a more diverse classroom environment and increased opportunities to learn from their new international schoolmates, reinforcing the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.”
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