What a day! In the East Midlands and Brazil today - but more on that later...

We were on one of the visits which Seb Coe does to the nations and regions to meet with young people and those running projects inspired by the Games in London in 2012.

Our first stop was at Trent Bridge which, as well as being a top class cricket ground, is one of the possible Pre-Games training camps for overseas teams in the run up to the Games.

We then visited the offices of Deloitte, who are one of our sponsors, to talk about how East Midlands businesses may benefit from the Games in London. We moved on to Mapperley Sports Village in Nottingham where we met dozens of children from local primary schools who were involved in a sports tournament and Seb presented medals for all the kids.

Back on the road then to see International Inspiration in action, making real the promise in Singapore to inspire a generation of young people all over the world. Our venue was Dukeries College in Ollerton where there was a Samba Band from
St Giles, and Tuxford and Valley pupils gave an amazing musical and dance performance.

Anne Allsop from Nottinghamshire County Council takes over the story from Dukeries College:

'Despite the rain the young people were excited about the prospect of meeting Seb Coe.

Each of the 12 schools was represented by their young leaders who, through displays and activities, demonstrated the shared learning with students in Brazil as a result of the International Inspiration programme.' 

Seb Coe was everything they hoped for. He provided their inspiration to succeed and was even more wonderful in person. The time he took to talk to the students was much appreciated and was a demonstration of a man who cared about them as well as being a leader.

The links with Brazil, through the London 2012 International Inspiration programme, have proved to be a true learning experience for students in both countries and today's video link was a wonderful opportunity to talk face to face with their counterparts across the world.

Seb Coe will long be remembered by the students and has increased their excitement for the 2012 Olympics.'

Two of the Brazilian students wrote about their experiences:

13 year old Bruno Henrique da Silva from Dom Bosco de Casa Amarela (partnered through International Inspiration with Dukeries School)

'It was the first time in my life that I spoke to someone so far way from a video conference! I was very happy to be able to talk to young leaders from our partner school and experience this contact with many people at the same time. I hope we can repeat it because it was really nice.

Communicating with Sebastian Coe was incredible! I'll keep this forever in my mind. When I see him through television I'll be able to say that I know this fantastic athlete, even if he is a little older now!

We are always in contact with our UK partner school, exchanging ideas, meeting new friends and getting to know about them. International Inspiration is part of my life because it really changed it. Together with the programme I won many obstacles that were difficult to win but thanks to God I got it… And today I'm the first secretary of the students union.'

17 year old Ítallo Thiago from Frei Caneca (partnered through International Inspiration with with Dayncourt)
 
'The video conference was great! Getting to know what our UK colleagues think and what they are up to from now on was really interesting. I loved to exchange experiences with my partner school. It was very important and exciting to meet Sebastian Coe, because he was, and still is, a great man who does incredible work with young people.

Even though we don't have the same conditions and structure as our UK partner school we try to work with the same values: raise people's awareness so we can fight inequality. We are teaching each other and learning from each other with Capoeira and Cricket. International Inspiration means a lot to me because it made me a different person, more responsible and committed. I don't know how my life would be without it. I'm very thankful to International Inspiration!'

London 2012 is alive and well in the East Midlands!