Olympic athletes united for education in the “Back to School” 2024 campaign

In this third edition of the campaign, renowned figures of Argentine sport such as Paula Pareto, Leandro Usuna, Walter Perez, Cecilia Carranza, Delfina Merino and Silvio Velo joined as ambassadors of the project. These athletes, all with great careers, joined the initiative in order to motivate young people and adults to complete their educational training, highlighting education as a fundamental tool for personal development.

The event, which was hosted by journalist Juan Martin Rinaldifeatured an opening panel composed of Mario MocciaPresident of the COA; Luis ScassoDirector of the National Office in Argentina of the OEI; Jose ThomasSecretary General of the Federal Council of Education; and Nancy MontesEducation Specialist at the OEI, who was in charge of explaining how the campaign’s official microsite works: www.oei.int/volveraestudiar.

“There are 30 million illiterate people in the region and half of the children do not finish high school. With Sergio Marchi, from Futbolistas Argentinos Agremiados (FAA), we started the first Volver a Estudiar campaign with excellent results. Now, with the COA and the generosity of the Olympic athletes, we seek to ensure that the campaign reaches those who need it most, so that no boy or girl is left out of school,” said Scasso.

Moccia added: “The Olympic Movement is deeply educational. Sport is a strategic tool for educating people and fosters values ​​such as discipline, teamwork, perseverance and responsibility, which are fundamental in education. Seeing our athletes collaborate with this campaign is a real pleasure.”

Thomas also expressed himself in this vein: “Sometimes a word from athletes motivates much more than that from many teachers, which is why this campaign is so important. Studying requires discipline, effort and motivation. Finishing high school is a right.”

The 2024 “Volver a Estudiar” (Back to School) campaign, which this year was framed in the context of the Paris Olympic Games, managed to capitalize on the prestige and influence of these athletes to convey a powerful message of improvement and commitment to education. Previously, in 2022, the first edition was carried out between the OEI and the International Federation of Professional Footballers in South America (FIFPRO), with great success and acceptance at the regional level. In 2023, the campaign was carried out again between the OEI, the Argentine Football Association (AFA), and the Argentine Football Players’ Union (FAA) with the involvement of Argentine professional footballers.

The audiovisual materials that are part of this campaign are already being disseminated in all jurisdictions of the country and are available on the microsite, given that 19 organizations and institutions have signed up with the commitment to support and increase dissemination on the various platforms.

“Education is synonymous with freedom; there is nothing more valuable. We detected that many of our collaborators did not finish secondary education and we created a tertiary institute to reverse this situation. Those who have access to education do not fall into abandonment. We will be disseminating this campaign on all the group’s channels and platforms to generate a multitude of actions,” said Diego Badaloni, Director of the Andesmar Group, one of the participating companies.

This edition has significantly increased the reach of the message on the importance of education, contributing to the strengthening of the right to quality public education in Argentina. In this regard, it featured the testimonies of Maria Merida and Gaston Sansotwho shared their experiences as adults who graduated from high school.

After the presentation of the spot for the 2024 edition of “Volver a Estudiar”, the athletes who participated in the video received awards from Scasso and Moccia, in the run-up to a conversation in which they took part along with Rocio Sanchez Mocciaflag bearer of the Argentine delegation at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she won the bronze medal with “Las Leonas”, and Federico Gila shooter who competed for the third consecutive time in the most important Olympic event.

“I was born blind and poor, but I got ahead because of the passion that sport gave me. Education was complicated by being uprooted, since I had to leave San Pedro and continue in Buenos Aires. When I discovered football for the blind, I touched the sky with my hands. The career of an athlete is short. You have to think about the future, that’s why I decided to continue and finish high school,” said Velo, a two-time Paralympic medalist and world champion in football.

Carranza, Olympic champion and runner-up in world sailing, added: “After the Olympic Games I asked myself what the future holds. I have always been interested in social work, I enrolled in Social Work to contribute something to the world, but I couldn’t continue. I began to ask myself what I am besides an athlete, so I went back to school, with other interests. Education generates tools to know what we can contribute off the court.”

“Studying means freedom. I studied Law at the UBA, 12 years combining it with my career in sports. Priority one is family, second is hockey and third is studying. It is not easy to do everything, but it is possible.”said Merino, a two-time Olympic medalist and world champion in field hockey.

In this sense, Sánchez Moccia highlighted: “It motivates me to hear all these stories. It inspires me to resume my studies, which with hockey and personal life is not easy. Distance learning is key today for that.” Gil, meanwhile, concluded: “I started competing when I was very young, but I was very clear from my family that education was everything. No one can take away our education, our knowledge. I leaned towards law and graduated at 22 years old, while I was competing. It is necessary to bring the study possibilities closer to everyone.”