Jean Claude Besnard: Aging like vintage wine
By Graham C. Lim (National Press Club-Philippines since 1989)
The oldest member of the International Sport & Culture Association (ISCA) is still around at age 75 and counting.
Established in 1995, the ISCA is a global platform open to any organization working within the field of Sport for All, recreational sports and physical activity.
Today, the ISCA is globally in close cooperation with its 231 member organizations, international non-government organizations (NGOs), and various public and private sector stakeholders. It counts on more than 40 million individual members from 74 countries, representing a diverse group of people active in youth sport and cultural activities.
One of the renowned and hardworking personalities in the ISCA is Mr. Jean Claude Besnard (France), who just turned 75 years old last October 19, a date that coincided with the staging of the International Sport & Culture Association (ISCA) General Assembly held in Budapest, Hungary.
Before the ISCA General Assembly, there also was a three-day activity (October 16-18) that included speeches from international personalities that were the special guests in the ISCA MOVE Congress held at Budapest Congress Centre.
MOVE Congress is also a part of ISCA campaigns worldwide. Its main mission is to see to it that sports activities are in tune with current times. The world is fast moving and the game is ever changing no matter where we are working.
Physical Education and traditional grassroots sports programs and physical education are being disrupted every day by the new trends and technologies, and it’s up to all of us to remain active and adjust to the changes.
During the General Assembly, Denmark-born ISCA President Mr. Mogens Kirkeby, proudly announced the presence of Besnard, who has been in attendance since the 1st ISCA General Assembly held in Copenhagen, Denmark in February 1995.
Besnard, a native of France, also attended the Assembly, having been involved in sports-for-all activities in his native country as a consultant to a young Besnard when the latter first joined the France Union for Citizen Physical Education (UFOLEP) in 1968.
At the time, Besnard was only 24. In the last 27 years, he has been an active member of the Executive Committee of the UFOLEP for 27 years and to date, remains as a UFOLEP adviser.
Besnard’s advice to the current generation to put more emphasis on education in general, and give importance to issues involving the equality of people in all aspects of life and also the accessibility to sports and cultural activities to all.
Until now, ISCA President Kirkeby and his Secretary General, Jacob Schouenborg, also from Denmark, have distinguishably devoted much of their time to spreading the gospel of the organization to representatives of the European Union and European Parliament, World Health Organization (WHO) and UNESCO, and many other prominent organizations around the globe.
At its General Assembly in Budapest, the ISCA warmly welcomed the representatives of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) Inc. an organization that it unanimously accepted months earlier.
This writer represented the BAP Inc. was in attendance at the ISCA General Assembly in Budapest to receive the official confirmation of the BAP Inc. as an official member of the ISCA.
The ISCA headquarters is located in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Held once every two years, the venue of the next ISCA MOVE Congress and its General Assembly in 2021 will be determined early next year.
By Graham C. Lim (National Press Club-Philippines since 1989)
The oldest member of the International Sport & Culture Association (ISCA) is still around at age 75 and counting.
Established in 1995, the ISCA is a global platform open to any organization working within the field of Sport for All, recreational sports and physical activity.
Today, the ISCA is globally in close cooperation with its 231 member organizations, international non-government organizations (NGOs), and various public and private sector stakeholders. It counts on more than 40 million individual members from 74 countries, representing a diverse group of people active in youth sport and cultural activities.
One of the renowned and hardworking personalities in the ISCA is Mr. Jean Claude Besnard (France), who just turned 75 years old last October 19, a date that coincided with the staging of the International Sport & Culture Association (ISCA) General Assembly held in Budapest, Hungary.
Before the ISCA General Assembly, there also was a three-day activity (October 16-18) that included speeches from international personalities that were the special guests in the ISCA MOVE Congress held at Budapest Congress Centre.
MOVE Congress is also a part of ISCA campaigns worldwide. Its main mission is to see to it that sports activities are in tune with current times. The world is fast moving and the game is ever changing no matter where we are working.
Physical Education and traditional grassroots sports programs and physical education are being disrupted every day by the new trends and technologies, and it’s up to all of us to remain active and adjust to the changes.
During the General Assembly, Denmark-born ISCA President Mr. Mogens Kirkeby, proudly announced the presence of Besnard, who has been in attendance since the 1st ISCA General Assembly held in Copenhagen, Denmark in February 1995.
Besnard, a native of France, also attended the Assembly, having been involved in sports-for-all activities in his native country as a consultant to a young Besnard when the latter first joined the France Union for Citizen Physical Education (UFOLEP) in 1968.
At the time, Besnard was only 24. In the last 27 years, he has been an active member of the Executive Committee of the UFOLEP for 27 years and to date, remains as a UFOLEP adviser.
Besnard’s advice to the current generation to put more emphasis on education in general, and give importance to issues involving the equality of people in all aspects of life and also the accessibility to sports and cultural activities to all.
Until now, ISCA President Kirkeby and his Secretary General, Jacob Schouenborg, also from Denmark, have distinguishably devoted much of their time to spreading the gospel of the organization to representatives of the European Union and European Parliament, World Health Organization (WHO) and UNESCO, and many other prominent organizations around the globe.
At its General Assembly in Budapest, the ISCA warmly welcomed the representatives of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) Inc. an organization that it unanimously accepted months earlier.
This writer represented the BAP Inc. was in attendance at the ISCA General Assembly in Budapest to receive the official confirmation of the BAP Inc. as an official member of the ISCA.
The ISCA headquarters is located in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Held once every two years, the venue of the next ISCA MOVE Congress and its General Assembly in 2021 will be determined early next year.
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