Search for RP youths to Olympic camp on

McDonald's, in partnership with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), will send two young Filipinos who will join more than 400 delegates from all over the world to the International Youth Camp in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in September.

The search for the Philippine representatives was announced to the media yesterday where top officials of McDonald's Philippines and the POC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to formalize the tie-up.

McDonald's is sponsoring the International Youth Camp, which has been an integral part of the quadrennial Olympic Games since 1912 in Stockholm, Sweden.

"We are proud to be an exclusive partner of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and prouder still because we'll be enabling two young Filipinos to experience the magic of the Games as well as the camaraderie and fun of the youth camp," said Dinky Villanueva, vice president for marketing of McDonald's Philippines.

"This project, which we call the Olympic Achievers program, underscores McDonald's commitment to the Filipino youth and to the youth all over the world even as it highlights our global partnership with the world's most prestigious sporting event," he added.

POC President Celso Dayrit, echoing Villanueva's statement, described the two young Filipinos' trip to the Sydney Olympics and the International Youth Camp as a "one-in-a-lifetime" opportunity.

"By sending our own representatives to the International Youth Camp, we demonstrate to the community of nations that the Philippines is among the countries who proudly carry the Olympic spirit," he said.

Apart from attending the youth camp, which will run from Sept. 12 to Oct. 4 and which will be housed at St. Joseph's College in Sydney, the Philippine representatives will also get the chance to visit the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. They will also participate in the Olympic Torch Relay and will get to stay for two nights with an Australian family.

The two Philippine representatives, one male and one female aged between 16 and 18 years, will be chosen based on academic excellence, leadership and community involvement.

They will be selected from among 20 regional awardees who will emerge as the top choices in their geographic areas following evaluation by a panel of judges from the academe, media, government and private sector.