The Snowlets Camp

Running from 4 to 19 February, the camp took world solidarity as its theme and promoted winter sports, the Olympic Movement and a message of world peace. Some 217 young people aged 15 to 20, and hailing from 51 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), took part. As well as attending the Opening Ceremony and events at the Games, they played winter sports and learned about Japanese traditions such as tea making, flower arranging, calligraphy and origami. Excursions, homestays with Japanese families and a guided tour of Tokyo were also laid on for them.

In coming together from across the world, the camp’s participants immersed themselves in the spirit of the Games, learned about and practised the values of fair play and friendship, and enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the Olympic Movement and other cultures.

The camp came to an end with the issuing of the Nagano Youth Declaration on Global Community, addressed to the IOC, NOCs and the UN. United by their desire for peace and their belief in the Olympic ideals, the youngsters declared their aim to create a “truly global community” by combatting discrimination, promoting education and calling on individuals to show goodwill to one another.