LAUSANNE, Switzerland (October 30, 2021) - The Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) Board met in Pully, Lausanne on 30 October to discuss a number of key issues and appoint a new Board member.

Angelo Cito, Chairman of the Fondazione Umanitaria Italiana di Taekwondo and President of FITA, was elected as a member of the THF Board for a three-year mandate during the meeting.

THF Chairman Chungwon Choue said: “We are delighted to welcome Angelo to the THF Board. Angelo brings a lot of experience and expertise and will help us strengthen the support we provide to refugees around the world, through taekwondo.”

In other business, the Board discussed the THF’s partnership with the Olympic Refuge Foundation which will see the implementation of a project for refugees within a consortium of five other NGOs in Paris. The project will start by the end of January 2022 at the latest and will last for three years. The project will be a Paris 2024 legacy programme.

Chairman Choue added: “We are delighted to partner with the Olympic Refuge Foundation and work in collaboration with other NGOs to implement this new project. At the THF we have always made it clear we are very open to working with other organisations and other sports to expand the opportunities for refugees. For us it is about empowering as many refugees as possible through sport.”

During the meeting there was also a presentation on the THF projects that were underway in 2021 including in Jordan (Azraq camp), Turkey (Elbeyli camp), Rwanda (Mahama and Kiziba camps) and Switzerland (Lausanne). The project in Switzerland started in August 2021 with the support of EVAM (Etablissement Vaudois d’Accueil des Migrants) and BCI (Bureau Cantonal pour l’Intégration des Etrangers et la prévention du Racisme). In total, 2,500 refugees are taking part in THF programs around the world.

The meeting was hosted by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation at their headquarters. WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said: 

“I am pleased to have been able to personally welcome President Choue and the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation Board to the WBSC headquarters. Hosting the THF Board meeting is a symbol of our continued close collaboration following the MOU signed with THF and World Taekwondo last year to promote humanitarian, social inclusion, peace and development-supporting activities, especially for youth. The international baseball and softball community is proud to use our sports as a vehicle to encourage good health and well-being in communities, especially for refugees for whom the WBSC has pledged to use baseball and softball to improve accessibility to sport”.