27 November 2010 - New President and new brand for archery in Africa

New President and new brand for archery in Africa Cairo (EGY) – 27 November 2010 FAA Council (plese see captions below for name details)    Dr Aladin GABR was voted as the new President of the Federation of African Archery (FAA) at an extraordinary Congress in Cairo. The Continental Association also adopted World Archery Africa as a new brand.   In what was described as a move towards a better and stronger continental archery federation in Africa, Mr Paul PAULSEN, the 1st FITA Vice President voiced his confidence in the ability of the new Federation of African Archery for the future.   At the Congress held in Cairo, Egypt on 26-27 November 2010 with a major representation from African Member Associations, the Federation of African Archery adopted a new Constitution designed to pave the way forward and to grow the sport on the African continent.   Dr Aladin GABR was voted as the President of the FAA, with four Vice Presidents representing the four corners of the continent: Aziz Ouzzani EL MEKKI (MAR), Charlemange S HOUSSOU (BEN), Frank BROCKMUHL (NAM), and Tabassum ANWAR (KEN). In addition, Selwyn MOSKOVITZ (RSA) and Tamimount KARIM (KEN) were voted as Council Members.   In accepting the position as President of the FAA, Dr GABR made a commitment to development on the continent, backing it up with strong appointments of the Treasurer Khaled MEHREZT (EGY) and Secretary General Ahmed KOURA (EGY).  In making the announcement, and during the Congress, the Ministry of Sport of Egypt made a financial commitment to ensure the success of the new permanent office in Cairo.    Dr GABR, who holds a PhD in sports management and is the current President of the Egyptian Archery Federation, identified a number of areas needing attention in Africa as part of his long-term plan. The primary area of concentration will be the development of archery in Africa.  To this end, Dr Selwyn MOSKOVITZ (RSA) was appointed as head of the African development programme, focusing on the critical areas of infrastructure, coaching, judging and capacity building. In due course the FAA will be making an announcement with regard to the new coaching and judging structures which will play a pivotal role in the future growth of archery in the continent.  Dr GABR outlined the new structure that will grow and develop the sport on the Continent by unification of the member nations and by ensuring that all regions within the continent will be represented in the African development plan. With one of the initial development goals being that each member nation hosts at least one national championship a year, he formulated a plan to provide equipment to achieve this goal and called on the international archery community to be part of the 'Feather Africa' programme to donate their unused equipment to Africa.   "The name 'Feather Africa' was chosen because of the association of feathers with arrow vanes. In the same way that the feather was the first step towards writing, the learning process and recording knowledge, so we envisage the programme will be the first step towards high performance archery growth for developing member nations on the continent," he added. "The FAA has big plans in place, with large hopes and great outcomes, but lacks the financial resources to achieve these goals," he continued.   "There must be thousands of archers in the developed world who have very basic unused bows, arrows and accessories. Many archers do not realise that many countries in Africa use homemade bows made from bamboo and have never used a high-performance bow. A donation by these archers of entry-level, beginner and intermediate archery equipment can play a vital role in developing our sport on our continent and help us bring a new dimension to the sport; and help us achieve our goals,” he added.   The 'Feather Africa' programme aligns itself with the World Archery Plan and plays an important role in transforming the World Archery Plan into reality. FITA member nations are called to assist Africa and to be part of the 'Feather Africa' programme by acting as temporary collection points and to act as dispatch points to the African Member Associations in need of equipment for the newly formed development initiative. The FAA emphasised that the need is for beginners and intermediary equipment. Further information is available from the newly formed development office (featherafrica@archerysa.org) and an appeal to participate in the 'Feather Africa' programme will be circulated directly to the FITA member nations.  Last but not least, as a show of continental unity and in line with the FITA vision of global branding, the Federation of African Archery has become the second Continental Association to adopt the World Archery brand and logo. The motion to adopt the branding was one of many decisions taken at the Congress. The branding is part of the FAA vision in uniting archery in the African continent under one banner, and in so doing develop a single identity where archers throughout the world would support each other in all areas.   Selwyn MOSKOVITZ Edited by World Archery Communication     Photo Captions   Top: The new FAA Council (from left to right):
Treasurer: Khaled MEHREZT (EGY)
Council Member: Selwyn MOSKOVITZ (RSA)
1st Vice President: Aziz Ouzzani El MEKKI (MAR)
President: Aladin GABR (EGY)
Vice-President East: Tabassum ANWAR (KEN)
Council Member: Karim TAMIMOUNT (ALG)
Vice-President South: Frank BROCKMUHL (NAM)
Vice-President West: Charlemange HOUSSOU (BEN)
1st Substitute Council Member: Ahmed Mohammed Abdulkader (LBA)
Missing: FAA Secretary General Ahmed KOURA (EGY) and 2nd Substitute Council Member Mi-Careme Moise ESSIS (CIV) due to early leave

Middle: Participants at the Congress

Bottom: Africa adopts the World Archery Logo (from left to right): Paul PAULSEN (FITA 1st Vice President), Frank BROCKMUHL (NAM), Aziz Ouzzani El MEKKI (MAR), Tabassum ANWAR (KEN), Aladin GABR (EGY), Pascal COLMAIRE (FITA Development Director) and Charlemange S HOUSSOU (BEN)