AAU launched a seminar under the title “BRICS in the Fields of Physical Activity, Health, Tourism, and Leisure: Opportunities for Integration between Brazil and Ethiopia” at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies meeting hall on November 18, 2024.

Speaking on the significance of the event, Dr. Alem Mebrat Kiflu, the Post Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Sports Science, said the seminar was planned to foster ties between Brazil and Ethiopia in sports and health, adding the event also offered an important opportunity to find ways to address the scholarly publishing challenges facing the Department’s doctoral students.

For his part, Professor Ricardo R. Uvinha, Secretary General of the BRICS Council of Exercise and Sports Science, said the Council was formed to tackle specific concerns of member nations in matters of health and wellness of their citizens. The professor further stated that the BRICSCESS signifies a global alternative coordination of likeminded nations in the promotion of population health through exercise, physical activity, sports, and healthy lifestyles.

Fostering ties with Brazil has immense strategic significance considering the Latin American nation’s global position and legacy in the sports arena. Historical records show that  Brazil held the inaugural BRICSCESS conference in December 2017 under the theme Sports Mega Events and Health Promotion: Policies and Legacies in Exercise and Sports Science, after it hosted several other mega sporting events including the 5th International Military Sports Council World Games (2011), the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Confederations Cup (2013), the FIFA World Cup (2014), the Olympic Games Rio (2016), and the Paralympic Games Rio (2016), among others.

Department of Sport Science faculty, MA and PhD students, and invited guests attended the seminar.

Editor-in-chief: Dr. Amanuel Gebru

Reporter: Theodros Shewangizaw

Photos by: Philimon Hailekiros