From 24th to 27th April 2013, the IOC held their 15th World Sport for All Conference in Lima, Peru. The Conference was considered a great success by all who attended, and TAFISA extends its congratulations to the IOC, the IOC Sport for All Commission, the Peruvian National Olympic Committee and the Conference Organising Committee for hosting such an insightful and enjoyable conference, both in terms of content and extra activities.

TAFISA was well represented at the conference, both on and off the stage, with Board Members Jorma Savola, Rodolfo Valgoni and Wolfgang Baumann attending. Additionally, Bae Dixon-Schilling and Wolfgang Baumann were invited to moderate Plenary and Break-Out Sessions on “Facilities and Public Spaces” in Sport for All, and Bae returned to the stage to give a few words during the closing ceremony.

The conference was a fantastic opportunity for TAFISA representatives to meet with many colleagues and partners. These included the IOC Sport for All Commission, on which Wolfgang Baumann holds a seat, the IOC Sports Director, Christophe Dubi, corporate partners and potential partners, and, of course, TAFISA members. TAFISA is looking forward to the exciting developments to come from those meetings.

TAFISA extends its sincere gratitude to UPC for hosting the event, and in particular UPC Academic Director Raúl Rosales Zavaleta for his hard work in organizing the event.

Welcoming Panel: Rodolfo Valgoni (TAFISA), Guillermo Quiroga (UPC), Francisco Boza (Peruvian Institute of Sports), Jose Quinones (NOC Peru)

As it has become customary to meet at the venue of the upcoming TAFISA World Congress, the TAFISA Board of Directors met in Enschede, Netherlands, the location of the upcoming 23rd TAFISA World Congress 23-27 Oct., 2013. The Board was welcomed by NISB CEO Remco de Boer who represented the Congress hosts together with the Enschede Lord Mayor Peter den Oudsten. 

In addition to the Board meeting which took place 6th April, the Board had a chance to meet with the Organizing Committee to see the preparation status of the Congress as well as visiting the various unique venues such as the old church, music hall, art gallery etc.  The Board was provided with bicycles as the means of transportation from the hotel to the Congress venue to experience “sustainability” first hand. TAFISA President Dr. Lee Kang-Too, at the end of the inspection tour, was impressed by the hospitality and the expertise of the Dutch hosts and thanked in particular, the TAFISA Dutch board member Wim Florijn for his immense support.

Major items on the Board’s working agenda were the preparation of the upcoming board election as part of the General Assembly on 25th October, the new marketing concept and the Congress program.