|  | Foreword | No.56 May 2009 |
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President’s Message |
Dear ICSSPE Member, It is difficult to believe that it is already more than 4 months into my Presidency of ICSSPE. So much to do, and so little time to achieve it! My paid job, as Chief Executive of the Association for Physical Education in the UK, is demanding enough; and I know that I share with many of the other elected ICSSPE officers, the demands of juggling the paid job with the expectations surrounding our work as volunteer ICSSPE officers. Yet, even as we face the pressures of a global recession, and the inevitable challenges we face to retain or secure finance, I am aware of the benefits we gain, through being able to compare notes with and learn from colleagues across the world. At one conference I attended recently, here in the UK, the leader of the umbrella body for charities cited two priorities which he believed charities must value during a recession – first, being able to articulate the distinctive value which our organisations provide for governments and our communities; and second, the absolute need to continue to invest in international and global interaction and communication. I believe these priorities to be central too, for ICSSPE. Hence, I hope that our member organisations will continue to grow in both number and contribution. Our collective potential to offer the insights and understanding which can come ONLY from international and inter- or multi-disciplinary work is really quite remarkable. Perhaps, as every organisation, both governmental and non-governmental, re-examines its priorities to ensure “value for money”, it is a time for ICSSPE to be less reticent, and more assertive, about the value we provide for our members and ICSSPE’s partners. But this will be possible, only if our members communicate effectively, both with the ICSSPE office and elected officers; and with their own members. The total audience for ICSSPE materials and resources is huge; but we worry that they are not always made available to all the people in physical education and sport science who could use and value them. With new technologies, we should be able to reach more people, more effectively. New generations of professionals, academics and researchers already use different means of communication from those of us who grew to maturity long before the global information highway, mobile telephony, facebook, twitter and blogs. One of our most urgent challenges is to ensure that we have sufficient up to date and youthful advice, on how ICSSPE as an organisation can benefit from innovative communications systems, while ensuring that we avoid disenfranchising those people working in parts of the world where lack of infrastructure prevents engagement. Please help, by sending us suggestions on how we can do it! I hope you will enjoy now reading the 56th Bulletin, Yours Professor Dr Margaret Talbot, PhD OBE FRSA President ICSSPE icsspe.org/index.php?m=15 President’s Message