Commonwealth Games Opens Doors to External Partners -- Conferences and Conventions

(ATR) For the first time the Commonwealth Games Federation will be re-shaping their Annual General Assembly in Edmonton, Canada by adding a Sports Summit.

The Summit which would originally be exclusive to the 17 nations and territories that make up their membership is now open to the general public.

The idea emerged through the federation's strategic plan Transformation 2020.

The new arrangement was constructed to "reallytransform the organization from just being focused on games and turn it into a movement that would be relevant every day and really perpetuate the vision of the organization and all that we do" Chief ExecutiveDavid Grevemberg tells Around the Rings.

Through the transformation the federation's vision was converted into focusing onpeace, sustainability and prosperity and transforming the lives of citizens and their communities through the power of sport.

The Summit will be held on the final day of the CGF’s AGA with the theme "It’s Within Us".

The intensive one-day conference features keynote speakers, workshops and panel discussions.

Panel discussions will include topics such asindigenous reconciliation, human rights, gender equality and equity issues,governance standards and youth development.

Grevemberg says he hopes the summit will provide answers to questions including how to protect and promote human rights through major sporting events and through the movement and how to create a compelling argument in this uncertain world that hosting sporting events has value and is worth the investment.

"We're looking to really have some provocative/courageous discussion and hopefully derive some insight on actions that are potentially available at our fingertips" Grevemberg states.

"We are trying to encourage people to buy into the notion that sport is a vehicle to drive peace, sustainability and prosperity."

Confirmed speakers at the summit thus far include Paralympic swimmer Carla Qualtrough, secretary general of the Commonwealth Secretariat Patricia Scotland and Chief of the Six Nations of the Grand River Ava Hill.

The CGF general assembly runs from Oct. 3-6.

IPC Campus Academy Inclusion Summit Kicks Off in Rio

(ATR) International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven says the growth of the Paralympics is benefiting the lives of millions of people across the globe.

Craven kicked off the IPC Campus Academy Inclusion Summit hosted in conjunction with the World Academy of Sport in Rio de Janeiro Thursday citing examples of how host cities benefit from staging the Paralympics.

"Exposure to high performance Paralympic sport leads to seismic shifts in attitudes and perceptions," says Craven. "The Games can change how a city, a country and a continent think about impairment."

He says the best example of these shifts in perception came after the London 2012 Paralympics, which changed the attitudes of 20 million people about people with disabilities.

"The Paralympics can also benefit the development of the host nation’s team and lead to greater investment in both the public and private sector," Craven adds. "Brazil has had steadily increasing performances and could hang on to the fifth position at these Games."

Representatives for the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Games spoke about the programs they will use in the lead-up to the events to make life better for people with disabilities.

"The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will be the greatest ever," says Tokyo 2020 senior director of general coordination Eiichirou Kodama. "We will create a barrier-free environment throughout Tokyo. We have been promoting the Olympic and Paralympic values in our public schools since April."

President of China’s National Paralympic Committee and Beijing 2022 executive president Zhang Haidi says the city's Winter Games will be of "equal splendor" and build off the tremendous success of the 2008 Summer Games.

"Uniting persons with disabilities and other members of society, the Beijing Paralympics fully embodies the motto of ‘one world, one dream’ and highlights the Paralympic ideals of transcendence, integration and equality," says Haidi.

"Beijing 2022 will enable Chinese society to achieve greater progress, bring more benefits to China’s disabled citizens and create a warmer and more friendly world for the persons with disabilities across the globe."

The Inclusion Summit concludes Friday.

Russia hosts Country of Sports forum

Uniting over 3,000 people around the world the "Russia-Country of Sports" forum is used as a platform to promote various topics such as the development of sporting equipment to improving practices to prevent doping, the spread of racism and corruption in sport.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin will set the tone of the forum by speaking in the Plenary session.

Other exhibitions will include "Sports, Literature, Press and Multimedia" and "Modern Sport: Innovations and Perspectives, MISP". Russian and foreign book publishers specializing in sports publications will be part of a literary exhibition.

Members of the IOC, heads of sports federations and international athletes are all said to participate in the event.

The "Russia-Country of Sports" forum will run from Oct. 10 through Oct.13.

SPORTEL awards begin in October

The sports marketing and media business convention SPORTEL will be hosting the annual SPORTEL awards in October.

During the ceremony the best international sports videos and illustrated books will be rewarded.

A jury of Olympic icons and personalities of the sports and media industries will present the Golden Podium prize - an original piece created by French painter Raymond Moretti - along with the Sports Book prize.

Jury Members will include Olympic Boxing Champion Estelle Mossely and Paralympic Champion Richard Whitehead.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Oct. 25.

World Rugby Panel Features Fan Engagement Experts

The speakers of the Fan Engagement panel for the World Rugby Conference and Exhibition have been announced.

The panel will consist of experts in the area of fan engagement including the founding partner at BBH Sport and 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio and global sports chair at Twitter Alex Trickett.

Speakers will discuss how within the digital age growing trends such as virtual reality can change how fans connect with the sport thus impacting sponsors' choices and what viewers will be expecting from sports media markets.

The theme of the conference is analyzing the future of rugby and determining ways the federation can excel in the ever-changing landscape of the Olympic Movement. The conference will also discuss the impact of rugby’s return to the Olympics in Rio and its efforts to be a mainstay on the Olympic program.

The 2016 edition of the event will be preceded by the World Rugby Awards for the first time.

"World Rugby ConfEx 2016 is shaping up to be our best yet with more participants, a vibrant and engaging exhibition space and a varied and insightful agenda," said World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper.

The conference is being held at the Hilton London Metropole from Nov. 14-15 and seeks to bring together the global rugby community to share knowledge and forge connections.

Conference Schedule

Commonwealth Sports Summit: Oct 6-9

Smart Cities & Sport Summit: Oct. 12-14

Africa Women and Sport Conference: Oct: 14-15

International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport: Oct. 27-28

World Rugby Conference and Exhibition: Nov. 14-15

Host City 2016: Nov. 21-22

World Sports Tourism Summit: Nov. 22-23

Peace and Sport International Forum: Nov. 23-25

FINA World Aquatics Convention: Dec. 3-5

International Sports Convention:Dec. 7-8

IPC Vista Conference: Sep. 19-22, 2017

Written by Courtney ColquittandKevin Nutley

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