The second part of the 2020 FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy was held online from 4-6 September and was declared a big hit by the participants!
The fourth edition of the annual FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy, originally scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russian Federation, was switched to an online format due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.
Albina Rakhmatullina, FVLA and FISU Student Ambassadors programme coordinator at the 2020 FVLAHowever, despite the fact that it was an online event, it turned out to be very successful, with a strong educational and cultural programme. The headquarters of the event, including the Organising Committee, were at the University and the city of Innopolis, one of the most innovative places in Russia.
“This new online format of the event was a challenge for us,” said Albina Rakhmatullina, FVLA and FISU Student Ambassadors programme coordinator. “However, we ended up having a fantastic event. The end of FVLA is the beginning of the Ambassadors programme, so it is the beginning of a tall task that will be done online this year. The best is yet to come.”
FVLA IT Manager Karim Ismagilov agreed. “During the preparation process we faced new and different challenges,” he said. “It was interesting to overcome them with the amazing team alongside. I’d like to believe that participants truly enjoyed the event and took something new from it.”
It seems they sure did. “I was able to connect with people from around the world,” said a delighted Vitória Cabral, FVLA participant from Brazil. “I was able to learn and share my own experiences. Being able to understand how these international connections can work, I am very grateful to FISU and CBDU (Confederação Brasileira do Desporto Universitário) for this opportunity.”
Kristian D’Amore from Canada echoed those sentiments. “What I found really interesting was being able to connect with so many different cultures,” he said. “And also, learning different strategies from around the world, as to how people are developing university sports.”
In total, there were more than 400 participants from 116 National University Sports Federations, covering all five Continental Federations. 129 new FISU Student Ambassadors have emerged from this year’s edition.
Misha Vanyushin, Culture and Engagement Manager of 2020 FVLACulture and Engagement Manager of 2020 FVLA, Misha Vanyushin, said that the international connection is what makes FVLA unique.
“Our Academy always brings out the best example of diversity and global learning,” he explained.
“Differences of culture and language are nothing, if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. As the MC, it was rather a new experience for me, in terms of organising online ceremonies and online cultural programmes!”
“I hope the participants liked the way it was done. The FVLA 2020 has made this year way better!”
All the recordings of the sessions as well as presentations of speakers will soon be available here: http://2020fvla.tilda.ws. A video that encapsulates the mood can be viewed here.
