“Sports is something that brings people together. And if you’ve been to the refugee camps, you will understand how it will help especially with the young children. And that being part of this family will enable me to use sports which is a universal language of love on so many different levels. “Today when I hear them presenting the refugee teams, I feel my work is almost cut out for me right there and then. “Over the years that I’ve been working with UNDP, I realise the importance and the platform of what a family like this would bring… would help me with the causes or the work that I would like to do, ' she said. Yeoh was visibly excited as she told about what she is looking forward to doing during her eight-year tenure at the IOC. With her husband, former motorsport chief Jean Todt, she has also campaigned internationally for road safety. Yeoh, who became Asia’s first winner of the Oscar for Best Actress in March, has a long history of philanthropy and has visited refugee camps in her capacity as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The Malaysian superstar was one of eight new members named at the IOC Session in Mumbai on Tuesday (17 October).
Academy award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh is “humbled and thrilled” at becoming a member of the International Olympic Committee.
