In her opening address at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, IOC President Kirsty Coventry spoke to the world in a register that felt unmistakably compassion-forward—not as sentiment, but as a lived ethic. Drawing on the African principle of ubuntu (“I am because we are”), she reminded the stadium—and the billions watching—that our “strength comes from caring for each other,” and that the Olympic spirit is ultimately about “what makes us human.”

For the Charter for Compassion’s Compassion 2.0 vision, Coventry’s words land as a near-perfect public-language bridge to the seven pillars: she lifted up Spirituality / Love & Hope through ubuntu and shared humanity; Health & Compassion through care and emotional courage; Justice & Integrity through the call to “rise by lifting others”; and Education & Wisdom through her insistence that athletes model respect, support, and inspiration across difference. Even the Games’ theme of armonia (harmony) resonates with Arts & Innovation and Play & Innovation—a reminder that culture and celebration can soften divisions and re-open the civic imagination