The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has once again joined forces with the Abhinav Bindra Foundation and Reliance Foundation to bring the 'Let's Move' initiative to India. This year-round sports participation campaign aims to encourage and support young people to become active through the inspiration of the Olympic movement.
Campaign Launch on Olympic Day
As part of the ongoing collaboration through the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP), and following the successful campaigns of the previous two years that enabled 20 million young people to move, the new iteration titled "You Can Do This. Let's Move" begins on Olympic Day, June 23. The campaign will feature a variety of sporting activities and digital content across India, designed to help young people feel ready to start moving and enjoy the benefits of sport.
Empowering Youth Through Sport
Jyothi Yarraji, Olympian and Reliance Foundation athlete, said: "Growing up, sport gave me so much in life: physical health, a strong community, and the confidence to believe in myself. It taught me resilience, helped me overcome self-doubt, and shaped the person I am today. I hope more young people discover that they are capable of far more than they imagine. Sometimes all it takes is that first step."
According to a World Health Organisation report, 74 per cent of children and adolescents (aged 11-17) and 49 per cent of adults in India (WHO, 2024) are not reaching the recommended level of activity needed for optimal health, contributing to growing health and wellbeing challenges. Research also shows that young people face several barriers to physical activity, with self-doubt being a contributing factor. Even brief bouts of activity can provide an immediate boost to mood and energy. For young people, sport can support the development of essential life skills such as resilience, perseverance and communication, while being a powerful tool in building self-belief.
The Message: 'You Can Do This'
This year's iteration of Let's Move carries a simple message: "You Can Do This". It aims to empower young people to make their first move by reminding them that feeling awkward, imperfect or uncertain is normal. Just one step, one session, one breath is all it takes to start, and through movement, self-belief can flourish.
Reliance Foundation's Expanded Role
As part of its partnership with the IOC for the Let's Move India campaign and the celebration of Olympic Day 2026, Reliance Foundation is bringing OVEP to even more young people across the country. Since 2024, through this partnership, OVEP has reached over 338,900 students across 464 schools and community centres (Anganwadis) in 16 states, while also pioneering a global-first initiative to introduce Olympic Values in early childhood education.
Building on this momentum, Reliance Foundation will engage approximately 1,800 Anganwadis and 44,000 children nationwide as part of this year's Olympic Day celebrations, centred around the theme 'You Can Do This'. Through fun, movement-based activities, games, and community sports sessions, children will be encouraged to discover the joy of being active and embrace Olympic Values in their everyday lives. Reliance Foundation-supported athletes and Olympians will also join the campaign, sharing personal stories of overcoming self-doubt and challenges.
Abhinav Bindra Foundation's Expansion
The Abhinav Bindra Foundation, in collaboration with the IOC and regional governments, is extending its work to engage young people in physical activity to include five territories: Odisha, Assam, Chandigarh, and for the first time, Telangana and Meghalaya. On Olympic Day, students will take part in a range of indoor sports and classroom-based activities including yoga, with the aim to engage approximately 4 million students across the duration of the campaign. To date, more than 12 million children have already been positively impacted through the initiative.
Community Clubs Join Olympic Day
This year, a host of community running clubs throughout the nation are set to take part in Olympic Day celebrations on June 23 by hosting a themed run, a long-standing tradition worldwide. The sessions will be a symbolic twenty minutes and twenty-eight seconds, celebrating the upcoming Olympic Games in LA28, where cricket is on the sports program for the first time since 1900. This gives an opportunity for young people to move on Olympic Day and get excited for LA28.
Let's Move: A Growing Global Campaign
Let's Move began as an initiative for Olympic Day but has grown year on year to provide opportunities and inspiration for people to move throughout the year. Launched in 2023, it forms part of the Olympic Movement's mission to make the world a better place through sport, highlighting the positive impact of fitness and sport on physical and mental health. Each year, Let's Move focuses on a different barrier or benefit to support and encourage participation.
"You Can Do This" is the theme of this year's Olympic Day, the global celebration of sport and getting active that takes place on June 23 each year to mark the founding of the modern Olympic Games in 1894. Together with the Olympic Movement, including Organising Committees, National Olympic Committees, International Federations, Olympians, Rights Holders and Partners, a wide range of events, activations, content and toolkits provide opportunities and inspiration to help people around the world move more.
Through local physical and digital activations, as well as partnerships with the Abhinav Bindra Foundation and Reliance Foundation and their ongoing OVEP initiatives, Let's Move has already engaged over 20 million people in India.
