President Pierre Zappelli attended the International Board meeting held via videoconference on Thursday 28 April at the headquarters in Rapallo, together with General Secretary Simona Callo. The Board unanimously approved the reports that will be discussed and voted at the upcoming General Assembly meeting (Lausanne, 11 June), as well as the financial statements 2021, the budgets 2023-24 and the membership fees for the next two years, that will remain unchanged. The documentation will be sent to all the Clubs by next May 10, jointly with the notice of the Ordinary Meeting. The Board also definitively approved “PI’s Development Plan” for the next four years which will be submitted to the Assembly. The Board was also given some preliminary feedback about the results of the Survey developed by the Expansion Commission; the Survey gathered an encouraging consensus: as a matter of fact, more than 10% of the members participated and expressed their ideas and opinions about PI’s bodies and the goals of our Movement. The Board also confirmed the winners of the Communication Award (whom will be announced in a separate circular letter and will be presented their awards just before the Gala Dinner at the Auditorium of the Olympic Museum) and discussed about the upcoming events: Symposium “Fair Play restarts from schools” on 15 May in Rondine – Cittadella della Pace (AR); General Assembly Meeting in Lausanne, 11 June; District Presidents’ Committee and International Board meetings in Beausoleil (France), 28-29 September; Flambeau d’Or award ceremony and International Congress, in September too; Pan-American Congress in Cochabamba (Bolivia), 4 to 6 November 2022. The Board then took note with regret of the resignation of Elaine Cook, Chair of the CCSE, who stated she could not follow up in her position for work-related reasons. The President and Eugenio Guglielmino, IB and CCSE member, will convene an online meeting with the members of the Commission to discuss about how to proceed. After further reviewing the Final Document of the District Presidents, the Board discussed about the possible partnership with One-Ocean which could lead to new developments. The meeting ended on an exchange about Russian and Belarussian athletes and about their exclusion from international competitions. Though agreeing with the IOC decisions and in order to give a voice to the differences in sensitivity within Panathlon, the Board asked the Editor of the Magazine to launch a debate on the matter, on the lines of what was done for the e-games.
The following day, Friday 29 April, the International Board met the Governing Board of Fondazione PI-D.Chiesa. PI President, who also serves as President of the Foundation, stressed that this joint Board meeting should become a structural and institutionalized event so that the two bodies may meet, at least once a year, to exchange their views and ideas for the purpose of sharing information and of developing joint actions.
During the meeting, it was also highlighted how the Foundation is an “added value” for Panathlon International and how the two entities are deeply connected. To the point that PI decided to establish a provision, which the Foundation may use starting from the current year, with the aim of making the bond between P.I. and the Foundation even stronger and more recognizable by creating new possibilities to increase the number of actions and projects.
The debate focussed on the lack of knowledge of the Foundation and the Domenico Chiesa Award as well as on the resulting indifference and incomprehension, despite the “Introduction to the Foundation” slideshow having been distributed and published also through Panathlon International’s website. It was agreed that much greater effort must be made to increase knowledge, especially by building a pool of trainers. COMMUNICATION and TRAINING were the two keywords in the discussion.
We will have to use all available opportunities at P.I. events to communicate about the projects and initiatives undertaken by the Foundation, also in order to promote Panathlon International.
It was then underlined that the Domenico Chiesa Award is the most prestigious distinction, after PI’s Flambeau d’Or, awarded by the Clubs to sporting personalities who have honoured Panathlon’s principles and values.
The great shared potential of both Panathlon International and the Foundation was further highlighted: from the vast collection of images that could be used by the Clubs to the possibility to access the university circles through the PCUs, or the example of the last Photo Contest 2022 with the Photo Exhibition hosted by Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE), or the opportunity to provide various types of educational and teaching materials to be used in schools or at events attended by large numbers.
All the participants submitted concrete proposals that will have to be implemented and followed up to enhance the sense of belonging and to foster the teamwork required to achieve a “critical mass” and to become influential on sport matters on the international arena.