LAUSANNE – The 4th edition of the IF Forum took place from 22 to 24 November in Lausanne, Switzerland. FISU Secretary- General/CEO Eric Saintrond and Executive Assistant Paulo Ferreira were amongst the 212 delegates from almost 70 international sports federations in attendance at this event organised by SportAccord.
The session started with a Media Seminar under the theme “Facing the TV camera”; a one-day practical course on techniques for handling media enquiries effectively and developing the skills needed for TV, radio and newspaper interviews.
The Opening addresses were given by Jacques Rogge (President of the International Olympic Committee), Hein Verbruggen (President of SportAccord) and Patrice Iseli (Lausanne Chief of Sports Services), proceeding with keynote speeches from Patrick Baumann (FIBA Secretary General) and Michael Plant (Atlanta Braves Executive VP Business Operations). The evening concluded with the annual reunion of IF’s established in the Canton de Vaud.
The two following days consisted of other preeminent keynote address from top-executives from the international sports scene and a number of targeted breakout sessions for all participants to focus more in-depth on the issues at the heart of their own IF’s.
The final day included keynote presentations from Matt Smith (FISA Executive Director) and Alexandre McLin (FEI Secretary General & CEO). The IF Forum was brought to a close by Denis Oswald (ASOIF President).
(Source: Paulo Ferreira, FISU Executive Assistant)
FISU SG/CEO Saintrond with FIS SG Sarah Lewis
