ROME – On 11 and 12 September, 2014 the EAS network held its 11th Conference in Rome at the Foro Italico sport complex that welcomes the headquarter of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the University of Rome “Foro Italico” and the main stadium the “Stadio Olimpico”. This event was organised in the context of the Italian Presidency of the European Union.
The main theme of this edition of the Conference was “Dual Career Ambassadors for an Innovation Society”. FISU was represented by Kolë Gjeloshaj, Director of Educational Services who not only presented FISU’s activities but moreover insisted on the role of FISU in making the dual career approach more aware amongst its members and amongst the academic institutions. Indeed, since the 2006 FISU Forum (UAE) to the latest FISU Rector’s Forum in 2013 (SWE) topics partially or directly related to the Dual Career were presented to the participants.
Kolë Gjeloshaj, Director of Educational Services
Amongst the participant where representatives for the European Commission, the European University Sports Federation and the Association of the Mediterranean Universities (UNI-MED) and INSEP in France. It’s worth mentioning also that one of the speakers was Paolo Bouquet, who was the Vice-President of the 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino and the organiser of the FISU Winter Conference on Sport and Innovation in Rovereto.
The subject of Dual Career is taken with a lot of importance at the Italian level as it was underlined by several speakers such as two members of the Italian Parliament, i.e. Josefa Idema, Olympic Champion and former Minister and Laura Coccia. Fabio Pigozzi, rector of the University of Rome “Foro Italico” and President of the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FISM), opened the Conference and insisted on the importance of implementing the Dual Career programmes in higher education institutions while Giovanni Malago, the President of CONI, presented the programmes they developed to allow Olympic athletes to study in order to ensure them an easier post professional sport career.
This conference was the opportunity to elect a new board of EAS. The new elected president is the professor Laura Capranica, host of the Conference who succeeds the Hungarian Tibor Kozsla who was not running for another term.
CUSI board meeting
The FISU representative had to opportunity to visit the headquarters of CUSI, the Italian member federation of FISU as well.
(Source: Kolë Gjeloshaj, Director of Educational Services)