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IF Seminars

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As a complimentary service to International Federations, The Olympic Capital organises a series of eight seminars directed at the different departments/activities within an International Federation.

These seminars are open exclusively to staff from International Federations based in the Canton de Vaud. Typically, they take place at the MSI from 9-12 and are followed by a light lunch.

Please find here the dates for the 2020 IF Seminars:

• Marketing - Tuesday 25 February

• Integrity - POSTPONED

• Events - POSTPONED

• Education - POSTPONED

• Digital Fan Engagement - WEBINAR - Tuesday 02 June

• Communication - Tuesday 08 September (taking place at Synathlon)

• Clean Sport - Tuesday 24 September (in partnership with WADA)

• Development - Tuesday 06 October

• Innovation - Tuesday 01 December



In case you would like to receive the invitations to the seminar by email, please contact: danielle.honegger@lausanne.ch.

Please also contact danielle.honegger@lausanne.ch in case you would like to contribute to an IF Seminar as a speaker.

The descriptions of the 2020 Seminars are provided below.

  • Marketing

    How can IFs use influencers and ambassadors in order to raise awareness about their sport and their events?

    As the sports industry enters the digital age, International Sports Federations are facing a large number of new opportunities to promote their sport to existing and potentially new audiences. These new opportunities, however, also bring new challenges – and a need for action. The PwC Sports Survey 2019 points out that broadening one’s digital media reach is one of the core pressures facing every IF.

    Designing a robust social media strategy is widely-seen as a must if IFs are to achieve this, and a key component of this should consider how to leverage on the audience of an influential public figure which would endorse an IF’s sport or event. Among IFs the use of ambassadors has been well-established in recent years. However, the integration of influencers into social media strategies is a potential that has remained widely untapped.

    What exactly is the difference between an ambassador and an influencer? How can an IF put together a successful ambassador or influencer campaign? What should be the criteria for such ambassadors or influencers? And what is possible to achieve even with a very low budget?

    This Seminar aims at answering the above questions by including three different perspectives on the subject matter: a general introduction into the topic will be given by a corporate world expert, followed by a case study of an IF, and rounded off with a Q&A session with a practising influencer.

    Speakers at this Seminar:

    • Sama Al-Naib, BCW Global

    • Wiam Firouzabadi, Vojood Group

  • Digital Fan Engagement (Webinar)

    The Seminar scheduled for 2nd of June 2020 will be held in the form of a webinar, covering the topic of digital fan engagement.

    In light of the developments regarding COVID-19, it has been decided that a gathering in the size of the IF Seminar would be irresponsible and not in line with social distancing policies of the City of Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud.

    Instead, a webinar naturally suggests itself as a substitute. We are convinced that the webinar format suits perfectly as a platform for IF staff to maintain exchange among each other and to take away key learnings for their day-to-day work.

    Please find below the description of the webinar topic to which we cordially invite you:

    Digital Fan Engagement

    New ways of how international federations can effectively retain fan engagement for their sport and their events

    With fans having been restricted to their homes in recent months, the increasing importance of online engagement has become evident. In order to retain existing fans, to provide alternative services for cancelled sporting events and to possibly attract new audiences, digital fan engagement is something rights holders should pay special attention to.

    However, in times of limited resources and competing sources of distractions, it is not easy to actively and effectively engage with the wider public without running the risk of overcommunicating and without running the risk of giving away too much for free and thus drying out potential revenue sources.

    What are those latest approaches to digital fan engagement and how can international federations best make use of them?

    This webinar aims at answering the above questions by providing participants with an up-to-date overview of the digital fan engagement landscape, as well as with a case study of an IF successfully applying a state-of-the-art digital fan engagement strategy.

    Speakers at this Seminar:

    • Steve Mandincea, Fantastec

    • Tatiana Holifield-Arthur, Pacers Sports and Entertainment

    • Stéphane Schwander, FEI

  • Communication (talking place at Synathlon)

    Crisis Communication: How can IFs best prepare for and manage a crisis?

    International federations and their members may be faced with various crises or issues that can damage their reputation and, by ripple effect, their sport. With the world being increasingly connected, the risk of having to handle a crisis – regardless of its nature – is therefore significantly higher today than before.

    It is however possible to limit the level of uncertainty inherent in any crisis and its potential negative impacts if one is well prepared. Thus, sports organisations have much to gain by anticipating and preparing for a potential crisis in order to be able to react in an agile and orchestrated manner. This translates into the implementation of crisis communication strategies and processes long before a crisis scenario becomes acute.

    Based on contemporary crisis communication models and best practices, how should IFs prepare and perform appropriate crisis communication operations? And in what ways can an IFs support their various stakeholders once news about a crisis is breaking?

    Providing expert views from both inside and outside the sports industry, the Seminar aims at answering the above questions by including an overview of state-of-the-art techniques of crisis communications as well as relevant case studies to demonstrate real-life implementation. All this should contribute to the ultimate goal of the Seminar to provide IF staff with tangible take-aways which they can use in their day-to-day work.

  • Clean Sport

  • Development

  • Innovation