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FISU Roundtable event: Meet the Student Ambassadors

FISU 13 July 2019

Following a very successful two editions of the FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy, the event is back in the 2013 Summer Universiade city of Kazan, Russia

FISCIANO, July 9 –With student-athletes competing in the arena and fellow university-aged emerging sports management leaders helping put on the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade, it was perfectly fitting that the Meet the FISU Student Ambassadors roundtable event would take place in the athletes’ village inside the University of Salerno campus.

 

Many FISU representatives were present at this inaugural event, drawing particularly strong representation from both the FISU Executive and Education Committees. On the emerging leader side, current FISU ambassadors and future participants who will take part in the third edition of FISU Volunteer Leaders’ Academy (FVLA) this September attended the event.

 

In and around the Universiade, you are bound to find FISU Student Ambassadors assisting on everything from the sports operations side to delegation services to communication and broadcasting.

 

Educational Committee member Daniel Studer chaired and opened the event, beginning with a general introduction of FISU for the public.

 Alumni of the Volunteer Leaders Academy and current FISU Student Ambassadors gather together during the 30th Summer Universiade

Adam Pratchett, who represents the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as their student ambassador, talked about the his experience in the role and highlighted by the activities of the academy in Kazan. Pratchett also presented the activities of FISU ambassadors in numbers, breaking down the events of the 100-plus strong community attended and organized over the past calendar year.

 

The event continued with an engaging discussion of the next edition of the FVLA.

 

Albina Rakhmatullina, manager of the FVLA focused her presentation on how the program continues to develop on many fronts since it started two years ago, almost to the day. Rakhmatullina noted how participants will be evaluated both on their performance at the academy and also after, based on their work as an Ambassador throughout the year.

 

In the first two editions, attendee evaluation focused much more on during the Kazan academy with the best-performing young leaders invited to work directly for FISU at the Summer and Winter Universiades. Rakhmatullina remarked how those who’d earned these Universiade-time internships communicated back this real events experience helped them evolve as young leaders.

 

“I think the title of Ambassador is very useful at the beginning in the sense that it allows young people coming back to their country and they are recognized, and during the time they gain some legitimity, and they are known,” said Julian Buhajezuk, FISU Education Manager.

 

“In the end, once you have the passion, they know you after two years whether you have the title or not you are a leader, and it helps you to construct your career as a leader.”

 

The next annual FISU Student Committee meeting will take place, fittingly, during the FVLA. The organizers hope to involve the most dedicated students and use the FVLA program as a tool to find new members for the committee that most represents the athletes’ voice within the international university sport movement.

 

Argentina’s Student Ambassador, Mariano Orlando, spoke on how their national academy in Argentina works, and how they will choose this year’s nominee. Buhajezuk noted how he found Argentina’s selection criteria founding a good practice that other NUSFs could implement in their program. Buhajezuk also raised the idea of a continental academy.

 

The participants also discussed the positive externalities that could come from adding a mentor component to the program to help ambassadors’ progress after the Kazan academy training ends. FISU Education Committee member Renata Bojczuk supported this initiative, adding that this could also involve the education committee.