• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 01 / 16 / 2011

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Caracas, 14 Ene. AVN .- Ten years have passed since the sports agreement between Cuba and Venezuela was endorsed by the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez and the by then President of Cuba Fidel Castro, on October 30, 2000.

To date, 384 Venezuelans have received their diploma in sports from the Universidad de Ciencias de la Cultura Fisica y Deportes Manuel Fajardo, located in Cuba.

This process strengthens Venezuela"s sports education, which has become into a right as established in the article 111 of the National Constitution: “All persons have a right to sports and recreation as activities beneficial to individual and collective quality of life,” so as to contribute to improve the quality of life of the entire population.

The National Sports Institute (IND, Spanish abbreviation) was the body in charge in the beginning of the program to teach and massify sports in the 335 municipalities in the 24 states of the country, so as to cooperate with high-level sports development and improve Venezuela"s results in international events.

Fraternal Cooperation

This activity involves the Venezuelan Energy and Oil Ministry as the main axis to articulate the cooperation between Venezuela and Cuba, working jointly with the Sports, Education and Commerce ministries, which contribute with the sport agreement on the basis of placing the human education as the most important aspect.

Currently 384 Venezuelans have received their diploma and are working in different country"s sport areas, such as high-level competition, sport programs in public educative institutions or as civil servants in sports-related posts.

In addition, close to 1,600 Cuban professors and specialists in diverse sport disciplines contribute with Venezuelan federations, national teams and high-competition athletes.

As a result of the Cuba-Venezuela Agreement, in the past two Olympic cycles, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, the Venezuelan athletes won over 2,000 medals in international events.

The classification of 109 athletes in the last Olympic Games Beijing 2008 ratifies the progress achieved by the Venezuelan sport in the last 10 years.

Quality of life

The governmental program Barrio Adentro Deportivo is one of the achievements of this sport agreement, improving citizens" quality of life and providing the best happiness possible.

The ninth point of the agreement establishes: “Sending up to 3,000 trainers and other professionals in diverse sport disciplines and gymnastics, aimed at supporting Venezuela to make true its determination of transforming the practice of sports and gymnastics into a possibility for all the citizens.”

About four million Venezuelans have been benefited with this program, which gives the opportunity to workout in the spare time, stay active and improve people"s health.

Over four thousand Cubans are deployed throughout Venezuela working in Barrio Adentro Deportivo. Said staff contributes with the improvement of the quality of life and promoting a health culture among the people.

Source: www.avn.info.ve/node/38247