The CISM Board of Directors held its last 2010 meeting in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan in Western Asia which borders Saudi Arabia to the south-east, Iraq to the east, Syria to the north and Israel and the Palestinian territories to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea. This is not the first time that our governing body sets down in Jordan since a CISM Executive committee meeting had been held in Amman in April 1974.The Opening Ceremony was held in a dignified manner in the presence of the chief of General Staff, Lt-General MASHAL M. AL-ZABEN who repeated the strong commitment of the Armed Forces of Jordan in the development of sports activities for the physical fitness of the soldiers. In his address, the CISM President repeated the importance of Jordan in promoting the CISM ideals in the Middle-East region. LT-Gen Zabben invited the CISM president, SG and VP Asia to an official audience at the General headquarters of the Jordan ArmyThe meetings were held in the conference facilities of the Dead Sea Holiday Inn Resort, some 60 km. away from the capital city Amman. During 3 days, the Board broached many important points and reviewed the CISM activities in 2010. It was also the very first opportunity for the new CISM President, Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, to give more details on his different strategic commitments to make CISM an ideal platform where all armed forces around the world will meet in order to promote friendship, solidarity and peace, through sports.
The experts show the way
That BoD meeting was also the springboard to launch very ambitious projects for the CISM future. CISM was humble enough to call for external expertise to prepare the optimal conditions to launch 3 new projects:
- CISM International Foundation: Mr Vernay, from Switzerland presented the first draft of the International CISM Foundation which shall be officially launched next year.
- CISM World Sponsorship Program. Mr Grinaker, from South Africa, presented the program that he developed to get sponsors for the CISM world activities.
- Broadcasting the CISM events: Mr Hamel, from France, reported on the positive contacts that he took to broadcast the CISM Military world Games. The Peace Games in Rio 2011 will be internationally broadcasted for the very first time in the CISM history.
With the positive outcomes of these 3 external experts, one can bet that a new era has begun
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The BoD revised our regulations and defines the next CISM Strategies
Two points were particularly emphasized during the sessions. The first one was the report of the Working group for the revision of the CISM Regulations. Its President, General Renaud (French delegation), detailed the numerous proposals of the Group to modernize our regulations and procedures. Quite a colossal job indeed! Many innovations will certainly lead to strengthen our organization. You’ll see the results at the GA 2011 in Seoul, Korea R.The second topic which led to a very interesting exchange of ideas was the report of M.Gen Pucher, President of the CISM Planning and Development commission, on the CISM Strategic Seminar held in Serbia last September. That report highlighted the conclusions and recommendations of the Seminar participants to develop the next CISM Strategic Plan 2011-2018. In times of International financial Crisis, it was obviously concluded that CISM should prioritize its activities and re-focus its development strategies.
His Majesty Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein, President of the National Olympic Committee of jordan and brother of His Majesty Abdullah II bin al-Hussein honored CISM by giving an audience to the President, SG and VP Asia in his Olympic committee offices in Amman. His Majesty Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein is also the founder of the foundation “Generations for Peace” and expressed his high consideration for the CISM sport and peace activities. Furthermore, he kindly accepted to become a member of the Board of Trustees of the CISM International Foundation which shall be launched early 2011.
The CISM Football World Cup was born.
The Board of directors approved the CISM President’s proposal to officially create the CISM Football world Cup. This huge sport event will be organized every two years, starting from 2012 onwards and replaces the previous CISM World Military Football championship. The CISM Football World Cup shall gather 16 teams during 2 weeks to play football under the CISM motto “Friendship through Sport”. All the interested countries can contact the CISM Headquarters to get more information.
Quite a strong Korean delegation made the long trip to jordan to officially handover the Korean bid file to host the 6th CISM Military world Games in 2015. Among the 15 Korean people present in Amman, Mr Kim Yong-Ki, deputy Minister for Personnel and Welfare, Mr Shin Hyun-Kook, Mayor of the City of Mung-yeong and Mr Lee Han-Sung, Member of the National Assembly of Korea organized an impressive handover ceremony and offered to all the participants a courtesy dinner which gave a slight taste of the Korean warmth and courtesy. A specific Coordination committee will be set-up by the CISM Board of Directors to visit Seoul and Mungyeong in order to assess the Korean candidature to host our greatest event in 2015.
The closing dinner offered to the BoD members a folkloric dance show performed in a very friendly atmosphere alongside the Dead Sea. On the next day, a cultural initiative took all of us to one of the seven wonders of the world: Petra. Once you have seen this site, you will never forget it.
