Campus forum turns spotlight onto 2016 Olympics

March 21, 2016 | Kristen B. Morales | Permalink | News Release

An Olympic medalist remembered as much for his controversial statement from the podium as for his record-breaking sprints is among the featured speakers at a University of Georgia forum focusing on the Olympics.

John Carlos, winner of the bronze medal in the 200-meter run, made headlines when he stood, fist raised in silent protest, to draw attention to human rights and injustices. He joins Brazilian native and sport scholar Jorge Knijnik for the 10th annual Global Educational Forum, March 24 at the UGA Hotel and Conference Center.

The event, titled "Olympics and Development in Global Context," will focus on issues surrounding the Olympic games such as human rights, the legacy the games leave behind, the legacy of athletes and sports nutrition. Along with Carlos and Knijnik, other speakers include UGA faculty from the College of Education and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The annual forum is sponsored by the College of Education's Department of Kinesiology, with other sponsorships from units across campus.

Forum organizer Rose Chepyator-Thomson, professor in the Department of Kinesiology, said the Olympic theme also recalls the Athens and Atlanta area's Olympic connections. This year marks the 20th anniversary since the Summer Olympics took place in Georgia, including soccer championships at Sanford Stadium in Athens.

"The forum will reveal what Olympics means to Georgia and the world, especially when the games will occur for the first time in South America," she said. "Olympics is not only about us as cultural beings, but also about our shared history on evolutionary involvement in elite sport."

This year's speakers and their topics include:

Carlos, "Olympics, My History, and the Social State of America"
Assistant professor Becca Leopkey, "The Legacy of 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta: A Retrospective Analysis"
Chepyator-Thomson, "Kenyan Runners Run for Golden Moments in Olympics: Explanatory Factors—A Macro-Micro Analysis"
Associate professor Jamie Cooper, "Nutrition Concerns for the Olympic Athlete"
Jorge Dorfman Knijnik of the University of Western Sydney, "Are Olympics and Education Useful Instruments of Social Change in a Conflicted Society? Examination of 2016 Games in Brazil"

This year's Global Educational Forum takes place 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. March 24. The event is free and open to the public. Visit the event's website for a full schedule.