It has been a busy two months at the TAFISA office with International Challenge Day, the Triple AC Program Development Workshop in Tehran and, of course, preparation for the 21^st TAFISA World Congress and 2009 General Assembly in September in Taipei.

As TAFISA grows, it broadens its reach, strengthens its impact around the globe, and increases the number and value of services offered to its members.  In light of this, it is important that members exercise their right to shape the future of TAFISA by attending and voting at General Assemblies.  The 2009 General Assembly is particularly critical as the elections for the 2009 to 2013 TAFISA President and Board of Directors will be held.  Consequently, TAFISA urges as representatives from as many members as possible to attend the World Congress and General Assembly in Taipei, so that we may continue to offer relevant and valuable service to our members.

We hope you enjoy this newsletter, and look forward to seeing you in Taipei!

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Shang Hi Rhee, TAFISA President

TAFISA is delighted to announce that our Secretary General, Mr Wolfgang Baumann, has been appointed a Member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Sport for All Commission. This is not only an outstanding personal achievement, but a reflection on the relevant and important work TAFISA is undertaking, and its future potential.

The first meeting of the IOC Sport for All Commission took place on June 19 at the Olympic Museum.

TAFISA Secretary General, Mr Wolfgang Baumann, and International Sport for All Federation (FISpT) President, Mr Isa Rahim, met during TAFISA’s “Active Cities – Active Communities – Active Citizens” Program Development Workshop in May to discuss future cooperation between the two organisations.

Both TAFISA and FISpT are officially recognised by the IOC, and both Mr Baumann and Mr Rahim hold seats on the IOC Sport for All Commission.  With this in mind, along with the aligned objectives of both organisations, TAFISA and FISpT look forward to strengthening their relationship through closer cooperation in future.

On 18^th and 19^th May 2009, the Sport Organisation, Municipality of Tehran hosted TAFISA’s “Active Cities – Active Communities – Active Citizens”, or “Triple AC”, Program Development Workshop in Tehran.

The Workshop, the second in the series of “Active Cities” workshops, was a great success and attended by representatives from over 12 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania.  All attendees provided insightful and valuable contributions regarding the Program structure, content, application, benefits and schedule.

The intense working program was complimented by a fantastic social program, including visits to sporting facilities and events around Tehran.  TAFISA extends its sincere gratitude to the Sport Organisation, Municipality of Tehran, for hosting such a wonderful event, and looks forward to the continuing development of the “Triple AC” Program.

Due to high demand, TAFISA has developed and recently released its Patronage Guidelines for events in the field of Sport for All and physical activity (SAPA).  At the same time, TAFISA is pleased to announce its patronage of the Turkish Sport for All Federations International Congress of Sport for All and Sport Tourism, to be held in Antalya, Turkey, from 5^th to 8^th November 2009.  Associated with the Congress is also the Music and Dance Sport Festival from 28^th October to 4^th November 2009.  For more information, please see www.internationalsportcongress.org.

TAFISA Members are welcome to apply for TAFISA patronage of their events via the application form, which can be found at www.tafisa.net, along with the Guidelines and associated Cover Letter from next week.

TAFISA has recently produced the TAFISA Awards Scheme in an effort to recognise the invaluable contributions made to TAFISA by individuals and organisations.  This Awards Scheme includes four award categories:

1. TAFISA Jürgen Palm Award

    

2. TAFISA Honorary Membership

    

3. TAFISA Innovation Award

    

4. TAFISA Pioneer of Sport for All

    

The first presentations of Jürgen Palm and Innovation Awards will be presented, along with Honorary Memberships, at the coming 21^st TAFISA World Congress in Taipei in September.  TAFISA Member organisations are invited to apply for Innovation Awards between now and 14^th August 2009 using the Application Form.  Please see www.tafisa.net for more information.

TAFISA Secretary General, Mr Wolfgang Baumann, and Treasurer, Hon. Brian Dixon, met with the Major of the City of Siauliai, Lithuania, Mr Genadijus Miksys, to sign the revised contract for the TAFISA World Sport for All Games 2012.

An Organising Committee has been established, chaired by Deputy Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr Algimantas Vakarinas, and headed by Executive Director Mr Kestutis Petraitis, which will take responsibility for the overall organisation of the Games to be held in Siauliai.  The Games will also be supported by the Government of Lithuania.

ISCA President, Morgens Kirkby, Vice President, Elizabeth Paoliello, and External Relations Manager, Marvin Radford, met with TAFISA Secretary General, Wolfgang Baumann, Board Member, Wim Florijn, and Project Manager, Bae Dixon, in the TAFISA Office in Frankfurt to discuss future project based cooperation between the two organisations.

All agreed that closer cooperation is needed within the global Sport for All and physical activity sector, particularly amongst leading international organisations, namely TAFISA, and its regional bodies, and ISCA.  This cooperation should be beneficial to all cooperating parties, their members, and the Sport for All and physical activity movement in general.

With the elections of the 2009 to 2013 TAFISA President and Board of Directors, along with official approval of new TAFISA initiatives, approval of Honorary Members and the revision of the Statures on the agenda for the 2009 TAFISA General Assembly, the meeting is set to be an exciting one.  Official invitations and the agenda were released to TAFISA Members on 3^rd June 2009, and copies can be found on the TAFISA website, http://www.tafisa.de/ga2009/.  Any information for the General Assembly will be posted on the website as necessary, so TAFISA requests members check the website periodically for updates.

Thank you to all our members who completed the 2009 TAFISA Member Survey.  We were very pleased with the response rate, and really appreciate all those who took the time to give considered and insightful feedback!  We are currently analysing the results and will use the information as part of our ongoing business strategy development process.

With its steady growth TAFISA increasingly incorporates internationally operating members that can also offer services to other TAFISA members. This is particularly true of the International Sports Lawyer Association (ISLA) that has been a TAFISA member for two years now.

With its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, ISLA is the worldwide body of sports lawyers. Their working is predominantly in commercial law and their spectrum ranges from fundraising to professional sport issues. In most TAFISA member countries, ISLA disposes of a competent sport lawyer who is available for our members to contact for any legal queries. They are not only familiar with the domestic law of a given country, but also offer consulting in international law.  In 2007, TAFISA and ISLA, together with ICCSPE, organized a highly successful Sports Law Conference in Berlin.

To learn more about ISLA, please visit the website www.isla-int.com or contact the TAFISA office.