REFERENDUM/DEBATE
Does sport desert the 'deserts' of values ?
The Club of Lucca, through a letter from its President, relaunches and deepens a recently topical issue, following the World Cup held in Qatar.
It was appropriate to assign the organisation of a world sporting event to a nation that has been criticised many times:
1. For its failure to observe universally shared human and social values?
2. For the indifference with which the many fatal accidents that occurred during the work on the pharaonic sports facilities were ignored?
3. For the flaunting of the power of money as an absolute value in settling technical disputes and political and federal negotiations?
4. Is it now right, after this affair, to proceed with the assignment of the organisation of the 2030 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, another reality where many civil rights are trampled upon, without any consideration for ethical and moral aspects?
5. How do you assess such choices and orientations of FIFA aimed only at the availability of financial resources?
6. OR should sport overlook these moral considerations and safeguard only technical and structural guarantees?
7. FINALLY: Should Panathlon International express itself on these considerations in an official form?
Send us your opinions and in the next issue of our magazine we will publish the outcome of the discussion and the recommended orientation for Panathlon International.
Send your (short) paper to:
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The presentation of the book "Joy and Pain in Sport" by Professor Yves Vanden Auwelee will take place on Tuesday 28 March, from 11 am to 1.30 pm at the Fondation Universitaire de Bruxelles. The President of the PI Club EU Brussels, Philippe Vlaemminck, will welcome the participants and Partrick Van Campenhout, member of the International Board representing PI, will introduce the author. This presentation will be followed by a debate with five experts from the sports sector:
Moderator: Walter de Beauvesier Watson, Managing Partner ISICS Group, Lottery- and Sportsintegrity Consultancy.
Speakers:
- Van Houdt, Head of the Sport Unit, European Commission;
- Marjan Olfers, Professor of Sports Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam;
- Severin Moritzer, CEO Play Fair Code, Vienna;
- Jacques Blondin, Head of Regulatory Enforcement, FIFA;
- Ruben Neyens, Elite Sports Manager of the Flemish Gymnastics Federation.
You can attend the meeting (40 places available) and it will be broadcast live (the link to the live streaming will be sent by email one hour before the book launch). Registration is required.
From 22 to 24 March 2023, at the headquarters of Panathlon International, Villa Queirolo in Rapallo (GE) will be held important events:
the meeting of the Commission for Culture, Science and Education will define the theme and modalities of the next International Congress to be held in Agrigento (I) at the same time as the General Assembly of PI from 10 to 11 June 2024; the International Board will discuss the 2022 budget, the adaptation of the Regulations after the statutory changes approved in 2022 in Lausanne, the constitution of the Ethics Commission. We are also planning to meet with the PI-D. Chiesa Foundation to review existing projects and plan new activities.
We will also sign a collaboration agreement with the ISCA - International Sport and Culture Association and we will launch the project with One-Ocean Foundation.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced details of the Olympic Esports Series 2023, a global virtual and simulated sports competition created by the IOC and in collaboration with International Federations (IFs) and game publishers.
The President’s Committee of PI met in Milan on 17 February 2023. There were several issues to discuss: Panathlon University Clubs and the agreement with the University of Antwerp; the draft budget to be approved by the International Board to be held in Rapallo on 23 and 24 March; the participation of three Panathlon women, sponsored by PI, in the "Women in Para Sport 2023" Course, representing Italy, Europe and South America; the Ski Championships in Bormio ; the renewal of the contract with Mastro7; the recognition to Members and Sponsor Clubs, for which a proposal will be presented to the International Board; the possibility of participating in other Erasmus projects; the situation of the Districts after the entry into force of the statutory changes; the news of the opening of new Panathlon Clubs in Caudium (Area 11 -Campania), in Carinthia (A) and in Buenos Aires (RA). The meeting will resume on Friday February 24, with zoom, to complete the discussion of the subjects which, due to lack of time, could not be treated.
Clubs will soon be able to consult the adopted resolutions on our website.
A PI delegation formed by the International President Pierre Zappelli, the General Secretary Simona Callo, the International Board Member Giorgio Chinellato and the Vice President of the Panathlon Club Mestre Marta de Manincor met with the top management of the One Ocean Foundation chaired by Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo to discuss and implement the collaboration agreement already signed in 2019, just before the pandemic. The aim of this meeting was to sign a specific and operational project to continue the collaboration with new concrete actions. In March, we will try to launch the awareness-raising project by organising a joint event followed by the involvement of Panathlon and Nautical Clubs, inviting them not only to sign the Charta Smeralda, but also to spread the principles of water protection through the practice of sport, as indicated by the IOC (2020+5 project) and the UN (recommendation no. 10). Other moments of collaboration could be identified during the International Oceans Week and other events.
Panathlon International, after the Convention that was held in Rondine in May 2022, invites all Panathlon Clubs to get active to implement the Project "Fair Play restarts from the school".
Thanks to the collaboration of Prof. Matteo Lazzizzera, speaker at the above-mentioned Convention, all Panathlon Clubs will be able to have a valid guide to replicate the Project in the scholastic Institutes of every order and grade of the territories of competence of each Club.
The documents provided are really interesting and are the result of an experimentation that lasted years, with a really complete implementation framework. The project is both ambitious and challenging, but we are sure that several Panathlon Clubs, even if they will not be able to carry it out in its entirety, will be able to take the opportunity to start a successful collaboration with the scholastic Institutes.
An opportunity to spread Ethics and Fair Play in schools!
The fight against corruption has been highlighted as one of the central topics of sport, the promotion of integrity and positive values in sport being a central focus.
In this context, Sport Against Match-Fixing (SAMF) emerges - a project funded by the Erasmus + Sport programme and coordinated by the Portuguese Football Federation with Panathlon International as a Partner.
The International Olympic Committee has published a new Declaration that reaffirms solidarity with Ukraine and sanctions against Russia and Belarus, but also analyses the status of athletes from these countries. A new step in the policy of protection of athletes, as hoped also during the discussions that emerged in the Round Table organised by Panathlon International last September in Rome at the Olympic Preparation Centre Giulio Onesti, entitled "Effects of conflicts and politics in Sport".
Below is the link to the IOC Website where you will find the full Declaration and the PI Declaration resulting from the Round Table.
- https://www.panathlon-international.org/news/documenti/Roma_15_09_2022.pdf
PI’s Constitution and Arbitration Board (CAB) and Auditors’ Board (AB) have appointed their two new Chairs, respectively Sandro Fagiolino from Panathlon Club Orvieto and Giuseppe Ravasi from Panathlon Club Parma, to whom we wish a most fruitful work.
This decision was adopted by common accord by all the members who, since they took office after election in 2020, had agreed on rotating the chairmanship at mid-term. We wish to thank Riccardo Galassi from Panathlon Club Ancona and Andrea Sbardellati from Panathlon Club Siena for chairing the two Boards since late 2022 and for showing continued service-oriented commitment together with Franco Fähndrich (CAB) from Panathlon Club Luzern and Marino Albani (AB) from Panathlon Club San Marino.
In the picture, in order: Marino Albani (AB) Panathlon Club San Marino, Andrea Sbardellati (AB) Panathlon Club Siena, Riccardo Galassi (CAB) Panathlon Club Ancona, Franco Fähndrich (CAB) Panathlon Club Luzern
