Taking stock: A look back at the Federation of Gay Games... in 2008

Board members and Games Cologne volunteers at accreditation for TIP 2008

Following FGG’s very moving celebration of its 25th Anniversary in late 2007, the FGG Board of Directors started the 2008 with a surge of energy.

Mid-year Board meeting at Paris LGBT Center

Strategic Plan: The creation of a smaller Board following the 2006 bylaw changes allowed the FGG Board to meet physically during the year, and not just at the FGG Annual Meeting. In 2008, the Board met in Paris to update FGG’s strategic plan, while participating in the 2008 Tournoi International de Paris. The result was a multi-year plan and series of objectives aligned with the new strategy.

Several objectives have already been reached, for example, in the area of external collaborations, where the Federation of Gayt Games has made efforts to reach out to partners and stakeholders around the world, including the International Olympic Committee, EGLSF, GLISA AsiaPacific, World Masters Games, and others.

The main strategic objectives approved at the Paris meeting include:
· Establish the FGG as the pre-eminent leader of LGBT sport and culture
· Increase worldwide collaborations
· Execute the Gay Games successfully and consistently
· Achieve financial stability for the movement

Social Networking: New forays into the realm of social networking resulted in a revamp of the FGG blog (launched in 2006) and the creation of a Facebook page. With these two new communication channels, FGG was able to provide up-to-the minute reports and communiqués about Gay Games VIII and other important FGG work to thousands of supporters around the world.

Shared Marketing Efforts: As part of its efforts to share the risks and organising tasks associated with the Gay Games, the FGG continued to execute a multi-year plan to reinvest license fees paid by the Host directly into marketing events to promote Gay Games VIII, in particular by building upon the experience of the Chicago Gay Games to promote Gay Games VIII in North America.

Mayor FtzriSchramma launches registration

Launch of registration: The FGG supported our Host in Cologne with the creation of the Gay Games VIII registration system. It is expected that this is the last registration system developed by a Host, as beginning in Gay Games IX, the registration system will be developed and owned by the FGG, so as to spare future hosts the effort and expense of developing such a system from scratch each time. The launch of registration for Gay Games VIII took place at a reception during which the Lord Mayor of Cologne pressed the "start" button and became the first participant to be officially registered for Gay Games VIII.

Participants in Annual Meeting 2008 in Cape Town

The Honorable Edwin Cameron

Annual Meeting in Cape Town: As part of its efforts to reach out to partners and stakeholders, the 2008 Annual Meeting was held in Cape Town in late October. Organised by Ian McMahon, FGG Delegate from TOGS, the keynote speaker was the honorable Chief Justice Edwin Cameron, author of the very moving Witness to AIDS.

Meeting participants included several representatives of groups located in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Blomfontein, Durban, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.

During the week, volunteers organised visits to a local nursing home for orphans and victims of AIDS, followed by a tour of Gugulethu, a local township, given by FGG volunteer and friend Ndumi Funda.

A special session at the Annual Meeting was devoted to Gender Equity, which led to the creation of a working group that developed the FGG Gender Equity policy adopted the following year.

Doug Litwin, Paul Oostenbrug, and Israel Wright, pretty in pink

Social events included the Pink Ball, which raised money for local charities and FGG scholarships, a barbecue held along with a football match from local women's football teams, a civic dinner at which the Mayor of Cape Town offered a pitcher crafted by a local designer (now made into the Cape Town Cup, presented to the FGG Volunteers of the Year) and excursions to the magnificent sights surrounding Cape Town.

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