Youth and Sport Focus at IF Forum

The International Federation (IF) Forum brought to light the importance of Youth and Sport this week in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Organized by the Sportaccord Convention in conjunction with SportAccord, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF) with about 250 participants from 16-18 November, the aim of the IF Forum was to target the specific needs of Olympic and non Olympic IFs and to provide an enlightening and educational package of conference content. Several ‘Breakout Workshops’ and ‘Case Studies’ in both Youth & Sport and Revenue Generation occurred throughout the IF Forum, creating a vibrant exchange of information about sport and its future.

During the topic of Youth & Sport, discussion focussed on the benefits of creating and maintaining programmes which build a strong foundation for young athletes. Reaching youth through new media for example, was one of the methods which would educate a wider audience.

Alex Balfour, Head of New Media for the London 2012 Organizing Committee, gave a presentation on the subject and explained the global reality of technology and the future of sport. One of the more specific examples given was the successful results of such websites like YouTube. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in fact continues to use the website for the benefit of Paralympic fans all around the world.

In fact during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, the IPC took action and promoted Paralympic sports and the Paralympic Movement by launching a Channel on YouTube™ (www.YouTube.com/ParalympicSportTV), the leading online community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. The channel was number one on 10 September in a number of categories, including “Most Viewed”, “Most Viewed – Directors”, and “Most Viewed – Partners”.

The IF Forum in Lausanne brought in about 70 different IFs over the three days.

SportAccord’s mission is to unite, support and promote its Member International Sports Federations and Organizations for the co-ordination and protection of their common aims and interests, communication and co-operation, while at the same time conserving and respecting their autonomy.

For more information on Sportaccord, please visit www.agfisonline.com.