FISU recently held, on 23 June, part one of the FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy (FVLA) took place with participants from over 70 countries.
Welcome remarks from FISU Acting President Leonz Eder kicked things off and was followed by the introduction of the new FVLA participants from around the world, an overview of FISU’s background and history, and highlights of some of the great projects delivered by FISU Student Ambassadors during the 2022-2023 season.
FISU Student Ambassadors, a programme first launched in 2018, connect FISU with the world’s student communities to support university sport initiatives in those regions while also developing the next generation of university sport leaders. A significant part of the programme is the local projects undertaken by ambassadors to develop university sport in their country. These projects not only help bring to life their learning from the FVLA and FISU Student Ambassador Programme but also bring tangible global development to the university sport movement.
Three student ambassadors then presented about their projects. First was founder and President of NGO Medlife Lebanon Karim Harik who first spoke about the work he and his organisation did to distribute water at an international marathon held in Lebanon, while also encouraging all the participants as they worked through their respective races. He was also a panelist at the FISU World Forum in Costa Rica in December of 2022 where he provided his expertise and perspective about physical and mental health.
Korean Min Joo Kim followed and outlined her role as a supporter of Korea’s successful Chungcheong Megacity bid to host the 2027 FISU Games and how she too attended the FISU World Forum in Costa Rica. Her year continued by taking part in the internship programme at January’s Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games where she worked in a few roles including supporting operations at one of the athlete villages. The FISU Academy of Korea was another project she helped develop and take part in. It was held on 24 June and further provided opportunities for young sport leaders to learn and meet others looking to advance university sport in Korea.
To conclude her presentation, she highlighted to participants the value and potential of the FISU Student Ambassador Programme. “At the beginning of my ambassadorship year I never knew what I was going to do at all, but I’ve experienced so much and I’m very grateful to the programme. So, trust yourself and trust the process. And if you’re willing to commit your time and your passion into the ambassadorship, I’m sure you’ll find yourself a lot of different opportunities and you’re going to find you grow a lot because for me over the course of two years I definitely feel like I’ve grown a lot.”
Finally, Lena Seiller of Liechtenstein spoke about the 5K Mud Race project she developed along with three other ambassadors. This project outlined how such an event could come together, its objectives, and the steps to deliver it. This was presented to FISU leaders and other ambassadors and, as she said, provided all the project team members valuable experience and feedback in the development and planning of an event.
These three young university sport leaders give a glimpse into all the great work done by ambassadors around the world and to the importance of the FVLA. This new crop of participants in the FVLA now have the potential to create their own projects and legacies to support the development of sport in their respective nations. Their opportunities for learning will continue with part two of FVLA which takes place 7-9 September.
Written by Doug McLean