STUDENTS LAUNCH WEBCAST SERIES WITH GOLD MEDALLIST

PORT MOODY – Students in B.C., Canada and abroad had the opportunity to interview Olympic gold-medallist Carol Huynh as part of the first Sharing the Dream webcast, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today from Heritage Woods Secondary school.

“I was honoured to be able to introduce Carol Huynh to students across Canada and internationally as part of the first student-led Sharing the Dream webcast,” said Bond. “The webcast series aims to unite students in global discussions about issues related to the Olympic and Paralympic movements, as well as themes of sport, culture and sustainability.”

Students from Prince George led the first webcast with Huynh, while students from anywhere in the world could email questions during the live interview through www.sharingthedream.gov.bc.ca.

“As a public figure in Canada, I recognize and embrace the importance of being a role model for youth,” said Huynh. “Sharing my experiences will showcase my belief in the benefits of education and learning through sport. I am who I am and I do what I do because of this. I believe that you can be great at whatever you choose to do in life and I proved that when I chose to be great at wrestling and succeeded.”

The Sharing the Dream Webcast Series is a ministry-led component of the Vancouver 2010 Education Program where senior leadership students conduct live online interviews of renowned people on topics related to the overarching theme of global citizenship and to components of the Vancouver 2010 Education Program. Today’s webcast helped inform students about the values embedded in the Olympic and Paralympic Games and left them with ideas and strategies for taking action in their communities. In keeping with the goals of the Olympic Movement, the goal of the webcast series is to empower students to contribute to building better and more peaceful world, and to make a difference in their own communities.

“This experience has been a worthy one,” said Salazar. “It has taught us that we, too, can achieve greatness if we strive to be all we can be. It allows us to meet recent Olympians and see how all their years of hard work have paid off.”

At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Huynh – from Hazelton, B.C. – became the first woman to win a wrestling gold medal for Canada. She is an eight-time Canadian Senior Champion who has also won gold medals at the 2007 Pan-American Games and the 2005 World University Games. In her presentation, Huynh talked about the importance of being the best you can be at what you love to do, surrounding yourself with positive people, setting and achieving goals and remembering that who you are is what truly matters.

“I encourage students and teachers from across Canada and from other countries to log on and participate in the future live webcasts and discuss issues with other students on a global level,” said Bond. “All webcasts will be archived on the Sharing the Dream site, so teachers and students can use these webcasts to get involved in the program any time.”

Following the webcast, online discussions will continue through the TakingITGlobal website at www.projects.takingitglobal.org/sharingthedream. Students will choose future webcast speakers and themes, and dates will be confirmed based on speaker availability. The next webcast has been tentatively set for February 19, 2008.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee’s (VANOC) Vancouver 2010 Education Program components can be found at www.vancouver2010.com/edu. The site features information on the Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week, as well as other innovative programs connected to school curricula and student interests. Schools also have the opportunity to share their stories and showcase some of the exciting and innovative projects that are happening in classrooms across Canada.

VANOC is responsible for the planning, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from Feb. 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com for more information.

-30-


Media contact:	Public Affairs Bureau Ministry of Education 250 356-5963

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.