In the 2016 edition of the UIAA General Assembly, which was held at Brixen (Bressanone), Südtirol, Italy during October 12-16, 2016, the largest annual gathering of UIAA member federations representatives re-elected Frits Vrijlandt for his second successive four year term, approved Strategic plan 2017-2020, announced full-time memberships of five federations from four continents, announced the fourth winner of the annual UIAA Mountain Protection award and announced Reinhold Messner as the UIAA honorary member apart from other general business activities.
The Assembly and re-election of Frits Vrijlandt:
The Assembly, which took place during the International Mountain Summit (IMS), was organised in conjunction with the Alpenverein Südtirol AVS and the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI); saw ver one hundred delegates from all continents and witnessed a number of exciting and significant developments.
The current UIAA President, Frits Vrijlandt was re-elected and now starts his second tenure of four-year as the top most executive of the International federation.
Speaking about his re-election, Frits Vrijlandt said, “I am honoured to have served as the UIAA President over the past four years and very happy with what has been achieved. We succeeded with much of our Strategic Plan and we now have a new one to follow. I am looking forward to the next four years working together.”
The assembly also saw Yongfeng Wang from the Chinese Mountaineering Association elected to the UIAA Executive Board, extending the representation to the continent of Asia. Other members of the UIAA Executive Board will be Hélène Denis, Thomas Kähr and Pier Giorgio Oliveti as they were re-elected to guide the development of sport.
Strategic Plan 2017-2020 & New Members:
The UIAA General Assembly saw its Vice-President Peter Farkas present the Strategic Plan for the period 2017-2020, which focuses on UIAA’s three core pillars of safety, sport and sustainability. The Plan got unanimously approved by the UIAA member federations.
The Afghanistan Climbing & Mountaineering Federation, the Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, he Albanian Mountaineering Federation, Federación Nacional de Andinismo de Guatemala and the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Ski et Montagne were confirmed as member federations of UIAA; a step taken in the direction of supporting and uniting the growth of climbing and mountaineering in new territories.
Awards and New Honorary Member:
The winner of 2016 Mountain Protection Award was Mountain Wilderness, a French-based project dedicated principally to the removal of obsolete, manmade facilities in the European Alps. It was selected from a list of 23 projects from 19 different countries on five continents.
The UIAA Mountain Protection Award, in its fourth year, continues to grow as an internationally-recognized forum for projects, companies and initiatives which support sustainable tourist practices in mountain regions.
During the awards and recognition session, the UIAA also recognised the Mount Everest Biogas Project (USA) as the best new initiative and Waste Warriors (India) the 2016 UIAA Mountain Protection Award runner-up.
Speaking during the award and recognition session, UIAA Mountain Protection Commission President Dr Carolina Adler said, “The Mountain Wilderness project was the highest scored project among the assessors for this year’s award process, not just for its impressive commitment and action on the removal of obsolete facilities, but also because of its commitment towards sensitization and education that forms part of their activities.”
Further, she added, about the crucial nature of these projects and said, “This crucial aspect of socio-cultural outreach is also very important for education and for sustaining the success of these removal efforts in the long run, and so we commend Mountain Wilderness France for including this aspect as an integral part of the project. Seeing the tangible results and landscape transformation towards a more aesthetic mountain environment as a result of this project, is also very impressive”
October’s newsletter will feature a dedicated article on Mountain Wilderness.
Brixen-born Reinhold Messner was recognized by the UIAA for his legendary feats in the world of mountaineering, and was awarded the UIAA honorary membership during the assembly.
Messner is the first man to climb all fourteen of the world’s 8,000m peaks and the first climber to document a solo ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. A career which has seen over 3,000 climbs, many on new routes, Mr Messner, who chooses to climb alone and without the support of artificial means, has always challenged the perceived limits of what is possible.
Speaking about the honorary member, UIAA President Frits Vrijlandt said, “Mr Messner is a true pioneer and an individual who has pushed the boundaries of mountaineering, setting new standards for future generations.”
“An individual who has climbed throughout the world, and on many new routes he is the genuine global ambassador for climbing and mountaineering,” further the President added.
Inducting the honorary member and to welcome him were the three existing UIAA honorary members – Jordi Pons Sangines, Ang Tshering Sherpa and Claude Eckhardt who were presented with special gold pins.