The 11th FISU Forum 2012 was officially opened yesterday in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei. More than 250 participants from 68 countries, among them also the representatives of EUSA, are present on the Forum, taking place March 26-31, 2012.

At the Opening Ceremony, the Mayor of Taipei City, Mr Lung-Bin Han, welcomed all the Forum participants and expressed his hope that they would take the time to experience the Chinese Taipei beauty, people and culture. The FISU President Mr Claude-Louis Gallien thanked Taipei City for providing an excellent reception to all participants. Dr. Hsia-Ling Tai, Minister of Sports Affairs Council, also delivered some welcome words, stating that this was a very important event for Taipei City, the host of the 2017 Summer Universiade.

After the welcome speeches, the presentation of countries registered at the Forum was held. The highlight of the ceremony was without a doubt the cultural performances that were put on, with the local groups performing three amazing shows that drew constant applause from the audience. During the first day, the representatives of continental university sports federations from Africa, America, Asia, Oceania and Europe presented the activities of their federations to the participants.

EUSA was represented by Mr Leonz Eder, Vice-President and Mr Matjaz Pecovnik, Secretary General. Mr Eder welcomed all the participants on behalf of EUSA President Mr Adam Roczek. In his speech, Mr Eder thanked FISU for the opportunity to present the activities of the continental federations to the participants of the Forum and presented the information on the recent EUSA General Assembly held in Maribor.

Mr Pecovnik afterwards presented the structure and the main activities of the association. The participants were especially interested in organisation of the 1st European Universities Games to be held this July in Cordoba, as well as in the Volunteer Program and European Anti-Doping Initiative Project.

At the end of the presentation, Mr Eder invited Mr Gallien, FISU President to receive the EUSA Plaquette as a symbol of readiness of EUSA to fully co-operate with FISU in the future.

More information on the Forum can be found on http://www.fisu.net and http://2012forum.ctusf.org.tw.