First Games Liaison
Meeting in Athens

The first contact that the Games Liaison Committee made with the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games Athens 2004 (ATHOC) was in July. Those who attended the meeting included: Technical Officer Carol Mushett, Secretary-General Miguel Sagarra, Chief Operating Officer Thomas Reinecke and myself. From the headquarters staff, we had the support of Leen Coudenys, Susanne Reiff and David Grevemberg.

The Liaison Meeting was opened by the highest officers of ATHOC: the President herself and the new managing director. During this meeting, we had the opportunity to meet with the Ministry of Sports, to whom we underlined the extreme importance of the Paralympics and the role of accessibility, not only at the sports venues, but also at the village and in the city. We believe that this message was fully received.

The Paralympic Division of ATHOC led by Aris Kallipolitis is very much dedicated to the success of the Paralympics. We have to make progress in all fields, including accessibility. During all the sessions, we had presentations on how the Games preparations were progressing and we were positively surprised by the good progress and the quality of the ATHOC Paralympic team. Some members had been in Sydney and they will be able to put that experience to good use.

The Paralympic division works closely with the other departments within ATHOC, this being a joint organizing committee for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This model of an integrated organization will save time and money and bring more efficiency.

During this period of time, we met with the President and the representatives of the Greek Paralympic Committee, in order to understand the progress made in this field and to increase awareness of the Games through the Greek National Team. This was the first contact, and we believe that we have now reasons for good hope and achievement.

François Terranova
Vice-President, Games Liaison