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    • Jun 29, 2021

The Olympic Games, from Antiquity to the Present : Conference + Q&R

An evening dedicated to the history of the Olympics and the 2024 Paris edition

In French, free and open to all!



By Eric Monnin, Vice-President of the University of Franche-Comté, delegate on the programme L’Olympisme - Génération 2024.


One week before the scheduled start of the Olympics in Japan, join us to explore the rich history of the Games and the values that they project, learn about their growth and expansion, and the upcoming role of France in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Eric Monnin will discuss the evolution of the Olympics over the centuries to its current-day form as an important international showcase that symbolizes the strength and power of competing nations in peacetime. He will also answer all your questions.


This talk + Q&A is free and will be in French (suitable for intermediate-level speakers upwards).


This event is organised by the Alliances Françaises in the United Kingdom in collaboration with the University of Franche-Comté and the Academic Olympic Studies and Research Centre.



OUR GUEST: Éric Monnin


Éric Monnin is a French sports historian and sociologist, specialising in the International Olympic Movement. Associate Professor at the University of Franche-Comté, Monnin is also a former high-level judo athlete (French school champion) and musician (he performed with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Besançon until 1994).


His research focuses on the Olympic Movement and Olympic education. This study led him to organise "Olympic Weeks" and "Culture, Sport and Education Days" in schools and universities with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He participated in the organisation of the Olympic Youth Camp in Sydney (Australia) and Athens (Greece) during the two Olympiads. In October 2006, IOC President Jacques Rogge invited him to Beijing, China, as an IOC expert for the "World Forum on Sport, Education and Culture".


He intervened as a speaker in 2010 in Beijing, discussing the Union of World Olympic Cities (UWOC), and frequently participates in the work of the International Olympic Academy (IOA) in Olympia (Greece). In 2017 and 2018, he was invited to South Korea by the French Embassy for the Francophonie celebrations (speech at Ewha University) and during the Pyeong Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.


In December 2019, he founded the French Centre for University Olympic Studies and Research (CEROU) at the University of Franche-Comté, of which he is the director.


In March 2020, he had been scheduled to take part in the Olympic torch relay in Athens for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He is currently a member of the Scientific Commission for the inscription of the "Olympic Spirit" to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.


In 2012, the IOC awarded him the Pierre de Coubertin Medal at the London Olympic Games (he is so far the only Frenchman to hold this prestigious international distinction).


Monnin has published several books and has been awarded several other medals: Knight of the National Order of Merit, Officer of the Order of Academic Palms, Gold Medal for Youth and Sports, Bronze Medal for Voluntary Military Services.




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