From April 12th to April 14th, 2023, the founding meeting of the World Physical Education Alliance (WPEA) hosted by East China Normal University (ECNU) was successfully held. The meeting lasted for three days with the aim of founding WPEA and its board, enhancing communication as well as cooperation in the field of global physical education, and promoting the prosperity of this field. The meeting was strongly supported by the Chinese Association of Physical Education),
The meeting was held both in-person and online, which was live-streamed via Zoom platform of the international conference channel, the information platform of ECNU, and the official video account. Attendees from Australia, Brazil, Belarus, Canada, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United States (in alphabetical order) over 24 countries/regions and more than 100 schools/educational institutions gathered online to witness the founding of the WPEA, sharing the exciting moment of this international event, listening to the history, present and future of physical education in various countries around the world. And the meeting had more than 20,000 attendances.
The WPEA has officially been founded, and the future construction has a long way to go.
On the morning of April 12th, the founding meeting of the WPEA was officially started. Academician Qian Xuhong, President of East China Normal University attended the meeting, and Vice President Gu Hongliang presided over the opening ceremony. In the face of the ever-changing new situation and new environment, physical education is facing challenges, which to some extent hinder the international development of the field of physical education. The field of physical education urgently needs to create a fair, open, inclusive, and flexible environment on a global scale. The platform and resource library combining online and offline, linking academic researchers in colleges and universities and front-line physical educators in universities, middle schools, primary schools, and kindergartens, breaks the communication restrictions and information barriers brought about by external factors, and achieves global complementary advantages and resource sharing. They are expected to modify high-quality international cooperation as well as communication, therefore achieving sustainable development of global physical education. As the leading unit of the Chinese Association of Physical Education), ECNU shoulders the significant responsibility at the right time to promote the development of physical education, and actively initiates the founding of the WPEA. During the opening ceremony, Professor Ji Liu, the director of the preparatory group of the WPEA and the dean of the College of Physical Education and Health of ECNU, officially released and displayed the official logo and website of the WPEA. Professor Wang Xiaozan also explained the careful arrangements for the meeting in detail. It means that the work of the WPEA has been on the right track on an orderly basis, and the WPEA has officially been founded.
Academician Qian Xuhong, President of ECNU, said that the founding of the WPEA will establish a permanent mechanism for cooperation and communication among physical education colleagues around the world, and promote member institutions to carry out large-scale, wide-ranging, multi-level, and high-level physical education in the world. The cooperation and communication will inject new vitality into global physical education research and contribute new wisdom to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. In the process of establishment, the WPEA should go beyond the barriers and limitations, seek the greatest common divisor, and build the Alliance into a circle of friends with like-mindedness, mutual trust, friendship, and vitality. It should not only thrive in academic excellence but also in order to be fruitful in excellent education, we should also make breakthroughs in the development of physical education. WPEA, therefore, makes contributions to the promotion of global physical education and the sustainable development of all mankind.
The first Board Meeting was successfully held, and high-quality development is on its way to a new journey.
During the initiation process of the WPEA, a total of 50 universities/educational institutions from 24 countries/regions around the world signed up to join the Alliance. On the evening of April 12, the first Board Meeting of the WPEA was successfully held. Except for a few member directors who were unable to go online due to time differences, almost all board member institutions went online on time to participate in the meeting.
During the meeting, representatives of all member institutions jointly discussed, agreed, and revised the bylaw of the Alliance in detail, and further clarified the future development direction of the Alliance. Then the WPEA will actively carry out the revision and improvement of the bylaw, which will be released eventually after final review by the board. In addition, through anonymous voting by all members, Professor Ji Liu and Professor Wang Xiaozan from the College of Physical Education and Health of ECNU were finally unanimously elected as the first Chairman and first Secretary-general of the WPEA. The election of Professor Ji Liu and Professor Wang Xiaozan marks the new journey of China's physical education in the new era of internationalization, fully reflecting China's self-confidence! It is believed that, under the leadership of the College of Physical Education and Health of ECNU, China's physical education will endeavor to sail through the wind and waves toward a new level of internationalization!
The world discussed global physical education and seeks future development.
It is noteworthy that in this meeting, 22 experts and scholars from 18 countries/regions gave a keynote presentation on the theme of History, Present and Future of Physical Education in Various Countries. Scholars from all over the world gathered online to discuss the development of physical education in the world. Careful coordination and arrangement divide the keynote presentation into three time periods (mornings, afternoons, & evenings) and six sessions, to effectively avoid the problem of the time difference, realizing the convenient sharing of global physical education workers and researchers, and presenting an international academic feast on the doorstep in the field of physical education. Scholars shared the current situation and development trend of physical education in their countries/regions from the three dimensions of history, current situation, and future, who also discussed the current hot academic issues in depth. Their presentations about the collision of history, present, and future, and the discussion of hot topics provide enlightening ideas to global the development of physical education. The attendees all appreciate the quality of the keynote presentations, and it was an academic feast indeed! This not only fully demonstrates the important position and influence of physical education on a global scale, but also reflects the great significance of the founding of the WPEA.
International guests bring their greetings to WPEA online, with best wishes and appreciation.
The founding of the WPEA also received online blessings from international guests. Associate Professor Koh Koon Teck, chairman of the ASEAN Physical Education and Sports Committee and director of the Department of Physical Education and Exercise Science, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, highly praised ECNU for being the founder and active preparation for the establishment of the WPEA. Founding an international organization will face many difficulties, but he believes that the College of Physical Education and Health of ECNU has the ability and competence to conduct the establishment of the Alliance. Professor Giuseppe Musumeci from the University of Catania in Italy put forward ardent expectations for the goals of the Alliance. He hoped that the Alliance would pay more attention to health prevention while focusing on physical education, hold international sports development seminars, and promote international cooperative research in developing countries. Professor Lynn Housner of West Virginia University in the United States described the future direction and development plan of the WPEA, which is full of hope and strength. Additionally, they all expressed their best wishes to the WPEA, believing that the establishment of the WPEA will bring more vitality and dynamics to the international physical education field. During the closing ceremony, Professor Bronwen Hughes from Passanope University in Naples, Italy, Professor Guan Hongwei from Ithaca University, Dr. Ye Songdong from South China Normal University, and Dr. Lu Yuemei from ECNU delivered speeches as an international guest representative, moderator representative, attendee representative, and volunteer representative, respectively. They were very grateful to ECNU for initiating the WPEA. They believed that this would inspire global physical education workers and researchers and, in the meanwhile, gradually build bridges between physical education in all countries.
Furthermore, during the closing ceremony, Professor Wang Xiaozan, the first Secretary-general of WPEA, gave an overall review of the results and highlights of the meeting and also sent an invitation to the first in-person international conference of WPEA to the world. On this basis, Professor Ji Liu, the first Chairman of the board of WPEA, drew a picture of the future of the Alliance, that he will improve the professional competence of physical education workers by organizing more academic conferences, seminars, and training programs. Also, he will reinforce cooperation by establishing an international research center for physical education. Additionally, he actively advocated the use of modern information technology, to promote the scientific and technological innovation of physical education and implementation of physical education policies. It is reported that the first in-person international conference of the WPEA will be held in ECNU in early November 2023 when more experts, scholars, and front-line physical educators will gather to discuss the development of global physical education. It will further deepen cooperation and communication between countries in the field of physical education.
Lack of physical activity has become a consensus all around the world. Especially, physical activity and healthy development of children and adolescents are facing many difficulties and challenges. It has become a trend that the promotion of healthy growth of children and adolescents needs a new model of physical education with intelligence, diversification, and personalization, gathering wisdom from the world. The establishment of the WPEA can transcend national boundaries and cultural differences and promote global joint efforts to gather global physical education resources and wisdom. Therefore, we can jointly explore new ideas and new technologies in the field of physical education and solve important problems in it. At the same time, it can effectively benefit the worldwide communication and cooperation of physical education, so as to promote the development of global physical education on a wider, more diverse, and higher-quality basis!
Editor: Chen Meiyuan, Zong Chenjun
Pictures credit to: Li Li, Zhang Jinwang
