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The newly formed World Active Forum, whose inaugural Chair is AUSactive’s Barrie Elvish, has released a statement highlighting the post-COVID-19 challenges facing the exercise, fitness and wellness industry.

The statement advises “the pandemic not only negatively impacted people’s health around the globe, but significantly disrupted our ways of living”, noting that “world leaders had to strengthen collaboration, in order to overcome the crisis and limit the significant human, economic, social and political costs.

“In this context, the fitness and physical activity sector mobilised itself and agreed to enhance collaboration between its representative associations worldwide, to become a generally recognised societal solution when it comes to public health and wellbeing.”

The statement explains why leaders from national and regional fitness industry associations from all continents decided to form the World Active Forum (WAF) as their formalised global meeting place and future collective representative body.

The World Active Forum, officially launched during a virtual meeting of constituent industry association leaders on 20th June, aims to connect fitness industry associations worldwide and provide the fitness and physical activity sector with a unified voice at the global level.

The WAF community and network is committed to adhering to the highest level of accountability, openness and transparency and has initially decided on ‘more people, more active, more often’ as its slogan and public mission.

Beyond the role being undertaken by Elvish, described as “a globally recognised industry association leader”, WAF members have agreed that coordinating meetings of the group will take place every month until the World Active Summit in April 2023.

This first physical gathering of WAF will be followed by similar annual gatherings around the globe, in conjunction with trade shows and other significant industry events. Furthermore, it was decided to establish a steering group and a number of working groups, covering topics from skills and workforce, data-collection and research, public affairs, and a commercial stakeholder advisory group, which will allow for the involvement of industry experts from all continents.

More information about the group can be obtained by emailing thesecretariat@world-active.com

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