Rebecca Lowell Edwards, the Strategic Communications Director of International Olympic Committee (IOC), said on Tuesday that PyeongChang Winter Olympics is to send a message of "hope". [Special coverage]
"In general, people have positive and warm feelings about the Olympics, but like any organizations that involves human, there are issues from time to time. So the important thing we do is get straight to the facts, understand our roles in the communication process, and impact as fast as we can," said Edwards.
She said that each Games has a unified theme, for the Olympics is to send a message of hope to the word - just like the song "Imagine" at this opening ceremony.
"Many athletes that come from threatened environments, through sports they learn skills of leadership, sharing and how to engage diplomatically with other culture," she said. "We hope to bring these stories to create more meanings behind Olympism."
About a doping case involving Japanese speed skater Kei Saito, who tested positive for a masking agent at PyeongChang Olympics, Edwards said, "If it's related to doping or medical, we get in touch of our medical team having them speak out, rather than making it a political issue. Because a lot of times there is reporting based on innuendos and speculations. We don' t want to contribute to that."
Edwards, who joined IOC last year, has extensive experience in corporate communications as well as in media and non-profit sector.
