"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future" (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

This week was a turning point for Youth within the FEI. In keeping with the efforts within the organisation to ensure greater collaboration and cross-pollination between all disciplines, and the strategies carried through by their Technical Committees, the first steps towards creating a Youth Committee and a Youth Management Plan were taken.

The subject was discussed during Forum held today in Interlaken, Switzerland. Among the thoughts presented to the assembled volunteer body at the Forum was the fact that Youth is not a static target audience. On the contrary, it is an ever evolving dynamic group the motivations and interests of which change with each generation. In order that this ever-changing and fast paced public identify with FEI’s values and that these same values remain relevant and meaningful to young people, we will constantly need to ensure we keep up and keep in touch.

“Engaging with youth is one of the greatest challenges facing all sport,” says the FEI President HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. “Their entertainment choices are very cluttered but we must make sure we are a loud voice in a noisy room and that we plan our sport with our future audience in mind.”

The first Youth Olympic Games will take place in Singapore 2010 with Jumping representing the equestrian sport and the FEI will be proactively following the IOC initiative in striving to promote and spread the unique values inherent to horse sport.  A clear timeline in terms of potential future endeavours is provided for 2009 as the Year of Youth.

One of the many concrete developments to come will be the creation of an FEI Youth Committee the role and objectives of which can and will only be defined once all discipline strategies have been assessed as this will in turn allow for the drawing up of structured goals and actions for Youth unbound by the existing age categories.