Dear Friends,
Today for the first time we celebrate the International Day of University Sport (IDUS).
Last year it was proclaimed by UNESCO to raise public awareness about the necessity of practicing sports at universities. This is a very special moment for us at FISU, the International University Sports Federation.
For more than 60 years we have been promoting the values and benefits of university sports around the world. Our Universiades are now the second-large world multi-sport events after the Olympics. Every two years thousands of student-athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Universiades. On even years we organise the World University Championships in many different countries on many different sports. We also host educational forums and conferences to exchange ideas on how to improve university sports.
However, there is still need to do more. And today I ask you to join us in our efforts.
We live in a world of a wonderful new IT technology. In this environment of smartphones, social networks, video games one can easily forget that a healthy lifestyle is an essential part of our well-being. And it’s important to form the habit to live your life in a healthy way right from the student bench. University education is a key to success in the modern world. Let’s ensure that sport is an inherent part of it!
What is more, university sport indeed is one of the best ways to shape leadership skills, to teach the values of fair play, teamwork, respect for your opponent, respect for a different culture. Today I would like to encourage you to think what we can do together to promote university sports, how to use every opportunity to practice sports and how to create conditions for that.
Of course, the academic year starts at a different time around the world, so in the following days many countries will celebrate the first International Day of University Sports by organising festivals and events, supported by ministries of sports and higher education, as well as the Olympic movement.
And I invite you to join our FISU events!
Oleg Matytsin,
FISU President
Watch the video