Hopes and Dreams Borne of Canada’s Sparkling Olympics

Ottawa – Monday March 1, 2010 – National Inuit leader Mary Simon reflected on the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games which concluded yesterday. They were fabulously successful games with a third place medal count for Canada, including an historic 14 gold medals.

 

“These games exceeded our expectations on many levels,” said Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. “Like the famous red Olympic mittens, these games literally knit us together as a nation, first with the torch relay which covered 45,000 kilometers, which included seven Inuit communities in our vast Arctic. Then at the opening ceremonies Aboriginal peoples welcomed the world’s athletes to the competitions, personified by the Four Host First Nations. There was also a special pavilion built for us called the 2010 Aboriginal pavilion in the heart of Vancouver where we were able to demonstrate our drumming, dancing, singing, and traditional Inuit games to thousands of visitors from around the world.”

 

Mary Simon was at the opening ceremonies on February 12th in Vancouver. “It was a very proud moment for me to watch our Inuit youth participate in the opening ceremonies. Vancouver Olympic Organizers are to be congratulated for their inclusive vision of Canada. I was particularly moved by VANOC CEO John Furlong’s words at the opening ceremony which I felt spoke to our children and youth – not only in the Arctic but across Canada and around the world. He said, ‘Our children will begin to dream and believe in what is possible. Lives of great significance begin with a spark, a nudge, a gesture. Together let us touch as many as we can, while we can.’ For me this is the real success of these games – making the intangible very real, transforming our medal count into thousands of personal commitments of excellence, and the birth of hopes and dreams. Aside from the very real day to day issues the Arctic needs, it’s the intangibles, such as hope, that are sparked by international events such as these games.”

 

“With this in mind I would like to add my heartfelt congratulations to our Canadian athletes – our medal winners and all who competed – the athletes from around the world, the Four Host First Nations, all of the Aboriginal performers, the City of Vancouver, the province of British Columbia, and our Canadian government for its support of these games. It is my belief that Canadians will all feel the benefits of the hopes and dreams borne from these games for many years to come. I look forward to the Paralympic games.” concluded Mary Simon.