Last Friday (March 8), the Global Indonesian Professionals' Association (GIPA) held the first part of the Global Connect Series GIPA. During this event, Anindya Bakrie, Indonesia's Chef de Mission (CdM) for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, stated that this year's Olympic Games are unique because they are being held during the biggest 'election year' in the world.
As Indonesia has just completed its elections, this is an opportune time for everyone to come together to support the nation's athletes. In addition, he emphasized the importance of "realizing sports, popularizing sports" by elevating Indonesian athletes as heroes and urging the government to allocate more funds for sports development in Indonesia.
Anindya Bakrie, who is also the CEO of Bakrie & Brothers, further said that the Paris Olympics will feature four new sports disciplines: surfing, skateboarding, break dancing, and rock climbing, all of which have the potential to compete for the Indonesian team.
Hamdan Hamedan, Indonesian Special Assistant to the Minister of Youth and Sports, said the government plans to increase physical activity among the population. He highlighted the disparity in investment in sports between Indonesia and other countries, where Indonesia only allocates around 0.8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to sports, while other countries invest around 10%. Hamdan Hamedan also emphasized the importance of making sports a primary focus of the Indonesian government and society.
