Nouf Al Katheeri
National TV Presenter and journalist, UAE

Personal brand
9 September (Saturday) 16:50–17:35 CEST
Nouf Al Katheeri is a FVLA Alumna who graduated top of her batch from Media & Mass Communication (focus in integrated strategic communications) along with New Political Economy from New York University.
She is an experienced in public speaking and debating as she is a Tedx speaker and represented the UAE in Davos world economic Fourum.
Her passion lays behind the art of crafting a message and persuading the audiences which comes very handy, in the digit age we live in.
Tatiana Alonso Camos
General Director of FeDUA, University Sports Federation of Argentina

Students engagement within NUSF and CUSF
7 September (Thursday) 16:00–16:45 CEST
I have been part of the Academy in the 2017 edition, the first edition and it was a really beautiful experience. My case is that I already worked in the Argentine University Sports Federation, I have been working there for almost 10 years, I have held various positions and I am currently the General Director of the Federation. I am a Physical Education teacher, that's how I got closer to the Federation, and currently I also work at FISU America, the continental federation that brings together all the countries of the American continent. At FISU America I am the director of Sports Events. I hope we meet in the virtual session of the academy and we can continue to get to know each other.
Filippo Corti
Federal Secretary for FederCUSI, University Sport Federation of Italy

Students engagement within NUSF and CUSF
7 September (Thursday) 16:00–16:45 CEST
Currently Federal Secretary for FederCUSI, Italian University Sport Federation, Filippo Corti works as a presidential secretary responsible for institutional and international relations of the federation with all the territorial members and political stakeholders. He also manages relations with CUS and universities and he is responsible for communication, educational programme and social responsibility National projects in Italian University Sport Environment. Learning to become Secretary General Filippo's history is connected with FederCUSI by his incredible experiences at 6 World University Games: as a football player, as a captain, as a gold medalist and finally as an official representative. His experience extends to management, coordination, education, dual career, sport events and leadership. Because of his past as a professional player, he is also Head of Delegation of Under 17 national football team.
Leonz Eder
FISU Acting President

Opening ceremony
7 September (Thursday) 15:00–15:15 CEST
He obtained his degrees in Pedagogical University of Zug, the University of Berne as MSc in Physical Education and later a Sports Management Diploma at Swiss Olympic Committee / University of Fribourg. In his young years he was active as an athlete of regional level in such sports as Artistic Gymnastics, Handball and Volleyball. Leonz entered the sports movement first as a National Coach in Athletics, then since 1983 he was involved in the Swiss University Sports movement first as Member of the Board and since 1998 as Managing Director of the Swiss NUSF. He was a member of the OCs of numerous FISU World University Championships in different sports. He still serves as Chairman of the Swiss University Sports Foundation.
Since 1991 he was involved in the International University Sports Federation (FISU) as Member and Chair of different Committees and Working groups (Media, Protocol, Evaluation and Supervision of Winter and Summer Universiade, Development) and he served as a Member of the FISU Executive Committee since 2003 (Vice President 2011-15, 1st Vice President since 2015). In January 2021 he became FISU Acting President and had to stand for the development of the University sports movement in the challenging time of COVID-19 pandemic and rapidly changing political situation worldwide. He proved to show adaptability and force to help FISU overcome met challenges with 2 successfully organised FISU World University Games in 2023 (Winter Games in Lake Placid, USA and Summer Games in Chengdu, CHN).
Chidieberi Ezeani
Acting National Secretary for the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA)

Leadership
8 September (Friday) 16:30–17:10 CEST
I'm a sports media personality, marketer, and development professional from Nigeria. My career has revolved around my unwavering passion for sports both in management and events. Currently, I'm proudly serving as the Acting National Secretary for the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) since January 2022. My role involves coordinating NUGA's events, managing its social media presence, handling media coverage, and driving marketing initiatives. I was head of delegation for Nigeria at FISU Games in Chengdu, China. A member of the FISU U-media team since 2015. I have worked as Volunteer Manager for the Federation of African University Sports (FASU) Games in Nairobi, Kenya, effectively overseeing international volunteers. I'm also the Founder of Glitzsport, a dynamic sports media platform focusing on African university sports. Through Glitzsport, we offer sports-related opportunities, giving a platform to student journalists and other volunteers to publish sports articles, photos, and videos. My skill set encompasses event management, sports marketing, development, volunteer and team management, and social media prowess. Lets have a great time at the FVLA this year.
Adelia Faizulina
FISU Marketing and branding manager

FISU brand and communications
8 September (Friday) 15:15–16:00 CEST
15 years' professional experience across sport marketing, brand development, sponsorship and, and storytelling. Extended experience with FISU as part of and OC Kazan 2013 and FISU staff Marketing Department. Experienced international project manager, marketing, and communication strategist.
Eddy Flahaut
FISU Digital & Media Coordinator

FISU brand and communications
8 September (Friday) 15:15–16:00 CEST
Digital & Media Coordinator at FISU since November 2020, I graduated from the University of Nice in France with a Bachelor in Economics and a Master's degree in Digital Media & Marketing. I started my career in Paris working in the promotion of entertainment on social media (Cinema, Music, Gaming, Travels…) Passionate about sport since forever, I became the social media manager of a professional Volley-Ball Club and had the chance to collaborate with some national and international federation. Now, It has been almost 3 years that I run FISU social media activities and had the chance to work on different exciting digital projects. I coordinated the social media activities with different organising committees for the 2022 FISU Championships/cups season. I had the chance to manage the FISU Social media team in Lake Placid, USA during the 2023 FISU Games winter and also in Chengdu, China during the 2023 FISU Games summer. I'm now looking forward the next events!
Ahmad Salem Halawi
FISU Student Ambassador 2017 and 2019. FVLA 2021and FVLA 2022 team leader Assistant project developer at eee Austria international projects

FISU Student Ambassadors programme
8 September (Friday) 17:10–17:40 CEST
9 September (Saturday) 17:10–17:40 CEST
Ahmad, a passionate athlete and dedicated community member, has a wide range of experience in project management through practical involvement in various sports and social development initiatives in Lebanon. With a bachelor's degree in IT Management from Lebanon and a master's degree in international management from Austria, he presently focuses on the realm of project development and proposal writing within the IT sector. Starting as an ambassador for Lebanon in the first edition of FVLA in 2017 and in 2019, he has been involved since through multiple roles.
Juan-Carlos Holgado
FISU Sports Director

WUC 2024
8 September (Friday) 16:00–16:20 CEST
Has a degree in Physical Education & Sport Sciences, and a master's degree in Sport Management & Sports Administration. He is experienced in sports development and is a worldwide recognized archery expert. Joined FISU as the archery TCC in 1999 till 2021, ensuring the success of the archery competitions in FISU while leading the move from the World Championships to the FISU Games. Has been in the Olympic Games as an athlete, as a coach, as an organizer and as a Technical Delegate. Juan-Carlos is an Olympic Champion in Archery in Barcelona'92 and 12 times national champion in archery while being a member of the Spanish national team for 14 years. He was the Events Director in the World Archery Federation for 11 years and the World Archery Excellence Centre Director in Lausanne, and the WA Foundation for 6 years. Juan-Carlos has over two decades of experience in managing international events, leading teams to develop projects, educating and training coaches, assisting archers of any level, directing an Archery magazine, writing hundreds of articles, and running seminars all over the World, which has helped to develop and grow archery worldwide.
Joshua Miethke
FISU Games Summer Assistant

FISU Student Ambassadors programme
7 September (Thursday) 17:10–17:40 CEST
Meet Joshua Miethke, participant of the 2018 and 2019 editions of the FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy. From March 2020 until Octobre 2022 he was a member of FISU Student Committee. Starting his studies at Germany's former capital Bonn, he came into university sport as Head of Sports Department of the respective Student Union. Furthermore, he represented the students in several committees on regional and national levels ending as member of the adh board where his areas of responsibilities mainly were sport and competition, student engagement and internalization as well as the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games. Joshua Miethke together with Adam Pratchett (UK) developed the idea and created templates of Action plan for all student ambassadors. As the member of the FISU Student Committee he created the concept of evaluation system for the FISU Student Ambassadors programme. He joined FISU's Summer Games Department in November 2022 as FISU Games Summer Assistant.
Andy Newman
Director of Games Legacy, Birmingham City Council

Volunteer Management
9 September (Saturday) 16:00–16:45 CEST
Andy Newman has garnered international recognition in delivering high volume workforce programs and mobilizing some of the world's largest volunteer workforces attracting and recruiting over a quarter million people in recent years. Andy has held pivotal roles at the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tough Mudder, the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee, and most latterly with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games as the Director of Workforce and Volunteering. Andy has consulted and spoken internationally sharing his experience and expertise in effective workforce/volunteer management. Andy is currently Director of Legacy for Birmingham City Council and has an Executive MBA from Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham and a BA from University of Leicester and Colorado State University.
Albina Rakhmatullina
Project coordinator of FVLA and FISU Student Ambassadors programme, FISU Auditor in the team of Healthy Campus programme


FISU Student Ambassadors programme
7 September (Thursday) 17:10–17:40 CEST
9 September (Saturday) 17:10–17:40 CEST
Albina worked on the strategic direction and development of FVLA since its inception in 2017. She started volunteering in 2008 and was awarded a Volunteer of the Year status of her city in 2010 in Kazan. She was the Head of communications and database at the Volunteer Department during the 2013 World University Games 2013. She pioneered and implemented a course and a book "English 4U" aimed at teaching volunteers from 20 cities. She has an extensive volunteering experience at the World University Games in Belgrade 2009, Erzurum 2011, Youth Olympic Games 2010, Innsbruck 2012, London Olympics 2012, EuroSkills 2016, WorldSkills 2017, FIFA World Cup 2018 and countless national events. Now she is the Project coordinator of both FVLA and FISU Student Ambassadors programme and also the FISU auditor in the team of Healthy Campus programme.
Eric Saintrond
FISU Secretary General

Whats up FISU
7 September (Thursday) 15:15–16:00 CEST
A graduate from the Faculty of Motor Sciences (ISM) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Eric Saintrond began his career in the private sector, academic circles and in national and international sports organisations. In 1985 he joined the administrative headquarters of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), at that time based in Brussels. He quickly evolved within FISU and held the positions of the Director of the Games, General Director and finally Secretary General-CEO, the position he has held since November 2007. His diverse career has undoubtedly helped him to progress within the organization that besides being multisport is also very involved in the academic community. Upon his nomination as SG-CEO, he transformed the structure and functioning of FISU and initiated the historic move of the headquarters from Brussels to Lausanne, the Olympic Capital. He also created not less than five new departments and signed the very first partnership agreements with major companies such as Tissot and Eurosport.
Paulo Sivieri
FISU Sports coordinator

World University Championships 2024
8 September (Friday) 16:00–16:20 CEST
Paulo studied Physical Education at University of Brasilia – UnB, in his hometown, and has always been passionate for sports, especially Football. A couple of years after graduating he moved to London to take his 2-year MSc Sports Management programme and upon returning to Brasilia he was invited to collab with the Brazilian National University Games (JUBs). In the meantime he coached Football in the USA and also participated in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as a host. Paulo collaborated with CBDU for another 2 years before becoming an official employee, where he took an active role in the organisation of the FISU America Games and 2 FISU Championships in 2018. He also participated in 3 FISU Games (Taipei, Krasnoyarsk & Napoli) as part of the Brazilian Delegation, but left CBDU early 2020 seeking international experiences. Since May 2023 he's part of the Championships & World Cups Department staff.
Donna Spethman
Secretary General of FISU Oceania Head of International Services at Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games Member of FISU Education Committee Company Secretary for Grass Skirt Project Independent Chair for Squash Australia Nominations Committee

Students engagement within NUSF and CUSF
7 September (Thursday) 16:00–16:45 CEST
Donna has worked in the university sport sector for over 17 years at a university, national and continental level and has been working in the sports industry for over 25 years. Her experience includes strategic planning, relationship/client management, governance, risk management, project/program management, events and membership servicing. Donna has mentored students for over 15 years as part of the Griffith University and Southern Cross University mentor programs and was a mentor in the pilot of the FISU Student Springboard program. Having worked with students across internships, projects, engagement and participation, Donna will showcase how students can further connect and engage with their National and Continental University Sport Federations in this FVLA session
Bridget Umutoni
FVLA 2023 team leader, volunteer at Union of African Traditional Sports and Games

FISU Student Ambassadors programme

7 September (Thursday) 17:10–17:40 CEST
Recap of Day: Questions and Answers
8 and 9 September (Friday,Saturday) 15:00–15:15 CEST
At FVLA 2018 represented Uganda under the Association of Uganda University Sports. She is a versatile sports enthusiast with expertise in coaching, sport administration, and events management. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Sports Science from Makerere University and recently completed her Master's degree in Global Sports Management from Seoul National University as part of Dream Together Master's Program. Bridget has worked for various esteemed sports organizations including the Uganda Olympic Committee, Uganda Volleyball Federation, International Sport Strategy Foundation, and currently volunteers at the Union of African Traditional Sports and Games. Her commitment extends to supporting the execution of diverse sports events in roles such as volunteer manager and team liaison. Notable examples include the Goyang 2022 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships, the 2nd Beach Wood Ball World Cup 2019, the FISU World University Netball Championship 2018, and the Sseninde Women's Development Football Cup.
Olivier Van Bogaert
FISU Head of Media and Communications

FISU brand and communications
8 September (Friday) 15:15–16:00 CEST
A Swiss investigative journalist and reporter, Olivier van Bogaert worked for many years for the largest French speaking newspaper in Switzerland before moving to the NGO/Charity world in 1991. He was Head of information at WWF Switzerland from 1991 to 1998, Senior Press Officer, then Deputy Head of Press at WWF International from 1998 to 2007, Head of Information and Communications at Terre des Hommes in 2008, Special Communications Advisor at WWF International from 2009 to 2011, Director of Media and Communications with the International Commission of Jurists from 2011 to 2021 and eventually joined FISU in February 2022 to lead the Media and Communications Department.
Paolo Verri
Head of Special Project

Presentation of #To25- Brainstorm
8 September (Friday) 15:00–15:15 CEST
Since 1998 he has been dealing with cities and urban development. A man of books and culture. After the Turin Olympics 2006 and the 2007 Universiade, he will be the Head of the Special Projects of Torino 2025. In this role, he will deal with sustainability and legacy, and with the new project (a side event of the FISU Winter Games) better known as "#To25- Brainstorm".
Rose Wignall
Rhine-Ruhr FISU World University Games Summer volunteer management

Volunteer Management
9 September (Saturday) 16:00–16:45 CEST
After graduating from Loughborough University with a masters in sport management, politics and international development, Rose worked for the UEFA Women's EURO England 2022 supporting venue operations. Recently, Rose worked for the Special Olympics World Games (SOWG) Berlin 2023 in volunteer management. As the world's largest inclusive sports event, the SOWG recruited over 12,000 volunteers from 80+ countries to support in different areas. She worked with her team to screen applications, assign role offers, allocate shifts, organise engagement activities and managed volunteers onsite during the Games. In the last few years, Rose has also volunteered at sports events including Women's Hockey World Cup London 2018, Netball World Cup Liverpool 2019 and Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022. She will also be volunteering at the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 in mid-September later this year. Next, Rose will be working at the Rhine-Ruhr FISU World University Games Summer, again in volunteer management.
Jing Zhao
FISU Games Director for the summer edition

FISU Games 2021
7 September (Thursday) 16:50–17:10 CEST
Before joining FISU in 2008, she majored in international law and developmental psychology, and also had wide working experience in the Chinese government bureaus, as well as international enterprises. Jing started her first FISU Games (by then called the Universiade) back in 2001, and has served the FISU Games in different positions. She now works closely with the host city partners and other stakeholders in her capacity of the FISU Games Director. Through effective management and priorities setting in accordance with the FISU Global Strategy, her main role is to ensure the event preparation and delivery success in both short-term goals as well as long term strategic plans. Jing currently lives in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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