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Kent leads the way for its work on the Olympic and Paralympic Games!
Tessa Jowell, Olympics Minister, awarded Kent County Council its first ever Beacon for its work on the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Kent County Council (KCC) was one of only five local authorities in the UK to be recognised by the Government for its work relating to the London 2012 Games at a special presentation in London.
KCC achieved the top score of outstanding for their work relating to the 2012 Games.
Managed by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), the Beacon award celebrates excellence and innovation in local government.
The announcement was made at the QEII Centre, in Westminster in recognition of KCC’s work, led by its Sport, Leisure and Olympics Service, to secure a legacy for the county from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mike Hill, KCC Cabinet Member for Communities said:
“We work very hard to provide the best for local people and this recognition helps prove to residents and other organisations that we are determined to get the most from the arrival of the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012.”
Kent County Council as a whole is now able to use its Beacon status to demonstrate its ability across a range of areas including sport, the arts, business, volunteering, regeneration, schools and young people to use 2012 as a catalyst for long-term benefits.
Focussing on increasing participation in sport and physical activity, regenerating communities, and increasing participation in cultural and volunteering activity, examples of Kent County Council’s work includes:
- Created, developed and delivered a biennial Kent School Games, thought to be the largest youth or school sport event in Europe
- Secured match funding to establish new Sports Development Officer posts in Swimming, Curling and Archery
- Increased the KCC Disability Sport Associate Officers’ Network to cover 15 of the 19 summer Paralympic Sports, and 2 of the 4 winter sports
- Secured funding from private and public sector partners to directly support talented young sportsmen and women
- Established a Kent Trust for Youth Sport with KCC leadership and support
- More Olympic Pre Games Training Campswithin the official London 2012 guide than any other English county or any of the three Nations. Camps will be used to encourage participation in sport across Kent
- Achieved recognition for eight potential Paralympic Pre Games Training Camps, compared to 35 in total across the South East.
- More Kent businesses subsequently registered on the London 2012 business website than any other county area in the South East, and it is believed the UK
- Incorporated ‘2012’ into KCC plans to ‘support the independence’ and transform lives of the population of four pilot wards in Folkestone
- Encouraged a European-first Kent Greeters volunteering programme in Thanet and Dover.
- Staged a large screen premiere of three films made by young people inspired by London 2012
- Launched the Kent eVent Team - a partnership between KCC and the voluntary sector, aimed at recruiting volunteers for sport, leisure and cultural events across the county
- Enabled 120 local children to create their own campaign to have the Olympic Torch Relay enter the UK through Dover in 2012
Through achieving this status, KCC will have opportunities to promote their work nationally and to learn from other organisations, enabling them to engage communities further to take advantage of the 2012 Games.
For more information on Kent’s Campaign for the 2012 Games contact Stephanie.holt@kent.gov.uk or visit the website
