Press release

No.: 87e/00
Date: October 31, 2000
Contact: Royal Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Department of Sport Policy, Oslo, Norway, tel. 00 47 22 24 80 89

Important anti-doping meetings in Oslo

The second meeting of the International Consultative Group on Anti-Doping in Sport (IICGADS) will take place in Oslo, Norway, November 14–16. The meeting will focus on developments up to and during the Sydney Games, and the challenges in the aftermath of the Games. The meeting will be a part of a comprehensive anti-doping policy week in Oslo. Representatives of sport organisations and public authorities will discuss ways of combating doping in sports.

The Oslo meeting of IICGADS will be co-chaired by Australia, Canada and Norway. The meeting is a follow-up of the International Summit on Drugs in Sport, organised by the Government of Australia in November 1999, and the first IICGADS meeting organised by the Canadian Government last February. Representatives from 42 countries have been invited to the meeting in Oslo.

The opening session will give a general overview of developments since the Sydney Summit and the IICGADS Montreal meeting. The debate will focus on the most important challenges ahead.

The following sessions will centre on the establishment of comprehensive national anti-doping policies and programmes, development of regional intergovernmental support mechanisms to further anti-doping initiatives, international harmonisation of government laws and regulations in the field of anti-doping, and government funding of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The nine countries co-operating within the International Anti-Doping Arrangement (IADA) will meet in Oslo November 13, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will hold Executive Board and Foundation Board meetings in Oslo, November 13–14.