GWANGJU – The city of Gwangju, Republic of Korea, host of the 28th Universiade from 3 to 14 July, 2015, welcomes today and tomorrow (16 and 17 October, 2014) the meeting of the FISU Executive Committee.
Indeed, on the sidelines of the meeting, several smaller work meetings were held between the Organising Committee of the Universiade (GUOC 2015) and various representatives of the committees and staff of FISU. These meetings are further evidence of the excellent cooperation between FISU and the GUOC since the beginning of the process of preparing these games.
After approval of the minutes of the previous EC meeting in May, FISU President Gallien presented his report and sought the approval of the members to continue the reform of statutes and regulations of FISU which started three years ago. Today, the changes focus on the number and composition of committees. Of course, these proposals must still be ratified by the General Assembly on 7 and 8 November, 2015 to be held in Lausanne.
FISU Treasurer Bayasgalan Danzadorj then presented his report back on the fragility of the global economic situation which has implications on the finances of FISU. These are very healthy and monitored strictly. However, the treasurer insisted on the need to reduce the operating costs of FISU in order to keep a balanced budget.
Eric Saintrond, FISU Secretary General CEO
FISU Secretary-General/CEO Eric Saintrond then took the floor to give an update of the past and future events of FISU and on the daily management of the Secretariat. He emphasized the intentions of candidates to host our future Winter and Summer Universiades as well as special events initiated by FISU. The International University Sports Festival “Lausanne in Motion” is one of those, as well as the University Basketball League 3×3 which will hold its first tournament in September 2015 in Xiamen, China. Finally, the Secretary-General stressed the need to create a database containing all the information on all participants at all our events.
From left to right: Oleg Matytsin, FISU 1st Vice-President, Kim Hwang-sik, GUOC President and Claude-Louis Gallien, FISU President
Led by its President, Mr. Kim Hwang-sik, who was also Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, the delegation representing the GUOC gave a very detailed report on the readiness of the 28th Summer Universiade. All aspects of the Universiade were addressed (EC members were also treated to a tour of some sites after the meeting).
The FISU Conference has not been forgotten either, since at the end of the introductory report, President Gallien invited Mr. Kim Hwang-sik to sign the Memorandum of Understanding of the Conference. The Conference will be held from 11 to 14 July, 2015. The main theme of the Conference is: ‘The impact of University Sport on the Global Community’ with the following sub-themes:
• University Sport and its Eco-Environmental Impact;
• University Sport, Humanity and Social Development;
• University Sport and Innovation through Information Technology;
• University Sport and Global Education Developments.
From left to right, Janghyun Yoon, Gwangju Mayor, Kim Hwang-sik, GUOC President and Claude-Louis Gallien, FISU President
To end this first-day session, three committee chairs made their report to the EC. Mrs. Odell, presented the Education Committee emphasizing the excellent preparation of future educational events: The 2015 Conference and 2016 Forum. Mrs. Odell also revealed the names of three students selected for the scholarship programme of FISU (Daegu Scholarship programme). The nominees are Natalie Good (NZL), Anabel Vose (GBR) and Joshua Cheptegi (UGA).
Mrs. Rosaura Mendez, Chair of the Committee for Gender Equality, congratulated FISU’s participation at the 6th World Conference of the IWG (International Working Group) on Women and Sport. Mrs. Mendez also gave an indication of the upcoming events organized by the Committee at the Gwangju Universiade, i.e. the Roundtable and the FISU Award for Gender Equality in Sport.
Finally, Stefan Bergh presented the report of the Committee for the Development of University Sport (CDSU) informing about the participation of FISU in the general assemblies of the continental federations as well as the projects of the member federations who are helped by FISU.
Tomorrow the Executive Committee will hear the reports from the other Organising Committees of the future Universiades.
Yvan Dufour, Editor in Chief