111 volunteers from 91 countries take part in “FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy” in Kazan

(KZN.RU, July 3, Mikhail Chentsov). The large-scale educational forum for volunteers “FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy 2017” started in the Tatarstan’s capital for the first time in the history of student sports. Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, and Oleg Matytsin, the President of the FISU, addressed the participants of the forum with a welcoming speech during the opening ceremony at the Volga State Academy of Physical Culture, Sports, and Tourism. Asgat Safarov, the head of the Presidential Administration of the RT, Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, Leila Fazleeva, an assistant to the President of the RT, Igor Sivov, the general adviser to the President of the FISU, and others took part in the event.

O. Matytsin was the first to address the volunteers from all over the world. “I'm very happy that we all gathered here in the fantastic city of Kazan, the capital of the XXVII Summer Universiade. The main goal of the FISU is to unite people through sport and education. I hope that this new project will be successful, first of all, thanks to your help and support. Because you are a new generation, you are the leaders of tomorrow”, the President of the FISU shared his opinion. He also thanked R. Minnikhanov and I. Metshin for supporting the idea of the project and for many years of cooperation.

The “FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy 2017” will be held in Kazan until July 8. The representatives of the volunteer community themselves suggested the idea of holding the forum as a major and authoritative international platform for the exchange of experience. The program of events includes lectures, round tables, discussions, and group work. The main speakers of the forum will be experts from the FISU, the UNESCO, the International Olympic Committee, the WADA, as well as representatives of the Organizing Committees of future Universiade and upcoming World Championships among students in 2018. 111 representatives or leaders of volunteer movements or organizations from 91 countries will take part in the event for volunteers in Kazan.

Rustam Minnikhanov gave an official start to the forum. In his welcoming speech, he noted that more than 20 thousand volunteers took part in the Universiade in Kazan. In 2015, the World Water Sports Championship was held in the capital of Tatarstan, recently the games of the Confederations Cup ended. Volunteers were also actively involved in the organization of both events. “More than 100 Russian and international competitions are held thanks to our volunteers and our guests. Thank you very much. It is impossible to hold serious international events without such leaders, initiative and creative people. Of course, educational programs are needed to organize all this. Therefore, today we are very happy that this educational forum of volunteers is taking place in Kazan”, said the President of the RT and announced the forum open.

Another important guest of the ceremony also emphasized the importance of such events. It was Alexei Yagudin, an Olympic champion in figure skating, the ambassador of the 2014 Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk. He noted that he was proud to be invited to take part in the forum because he knows firsthand about the help of volunteers at the competitions.

At the end of the educational event, the project participants will present their programs for the celebration of the International University Sports Day, which was established under the auspices of the UNESCO together with the FISU in 2016. According to the results of the week's intensive, the top 5 volunteers will be awarded tickets to the World Summer Universiade in Taipei. In addition, the company-partner of the project will provide 5 most distinguished participants with scholarships for learning English at the best universities in the world.