On October 8, the 2015 World University Sports Seminar was staged in Xiamen, China, with main topic the ‘International Day of University Sports’. This seminar was hosted to celebrate the launching of ‘International Day of University Sports’, which has been put at the agenda of the next UNESCO General Conference in Paris, France.

The proposal of launching an ‘International Day of University Sports’ was put forward jointly by Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) and the International University Sports Federation (FISU), strongly supported by Mr Hao Ping, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Education of China, who is also the President of the 37th Session of the UNESCO General Conference and by Mrs Yandong Liu, China Vice Premier.



More than 40 representatives from five continents of FISU, the local authorities and nearly 100 teachers and students were present at the Seminar, discussing the future of the development of World University Sports, sharing the challenges faced by university sports and exploring the strategies and measures to cope with those challenges.



Mr Claude Gallien, FISU President and Mr Eric Saintrond, FISU Secretary General shared with the audience FISU's history, future strategies and explained what and how FISU can fulfill its strategies and goals by promoting the development of international university sports movement.



In the Keynote Speech, Mr Yanqing Xue, FUSC Vice President, proposed to further explore the market and attract the media, especially new media, increasing the exposure of university sports. Representatives of 5 FISU Continental Federations introduced their sport events, their achievements, their challenges and their future plan.



Activities of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) were presented by Mr Adam Roczek, EUSA President. Together with Ms Filipa Godinho, FADU President, a student leadear which successfully combines educational successes and involvement in university sport management, they presented the Organisers the EUSA plaquettes. In attendance were also EUSA EC members Mr Fernando Parente and Mr Ceslovas Garbaliauskas. Representatives of a few national university sports federations, some also from Europe, were able to share their experiences at the Seminar.



During the Seminar, the Chinese Federation of University Sports and Honam University from Korea also signed a MOU to promote the sports exchange between universities, with special focus on campus football.



In the closing speech, Mr Oleg Matytsin as FISU 1st Vice President highly commended the Seminar and appreciated the efforts of local authorities and organizers. It is also worthwhile mentioning that the first 3x3 FISU World University League Finals started in Xiamen the next day, featuring Basketball 3x3 teams from all around the world - 16 male and 12 female teams.