AIPS America EC Members: Hugo Hidalgo, Ecuador; Fernando Nunrberg, Bolivia; Walter Saltos, Ecuador; Moisés Avalos (atrás), Nicaragua, Carlos Julio Castellanos, Colombia; Luis Vargas, Venezuela; Alberto Rico, Mexico; Erick Alvarez, Guatemala.
Jairo Giraldo Jiménez – AIPS America Training Committee
BUCARAMANGA, November 24, 2023 – A true celebration of sports journalism in the Americas took place on November 23, in the city of Bucaramanga, Colombia, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of AIPS America, formerly known as the Federation of Sports Journalists of America (FEPEDA). The event was held alongside the annual session of the AIPS America Executive Committee and an International Sports Journalism Seminar.
AIPS President, Italian Gianni Merlo, opened the ceremony with a brief speech related to the current state of our profession. This was followed by greetings from former AIPS America presidents Juan Facuse, Carlos García, and Gabriel Cazenave.
EMOTIONAL MOMENTS The ceremony, which was broadcast live on the regional television channel TRO, witnessed emotional moments when Juan Manuel González received the Abelardo Raidi Award for the Life and Work of a Journalist, and colleague Felipe Zarruk was presented with a diploma for achieving fourth place in the last edition of the AIPS Sport Media Awards.
SPECIAL GUESTS Under the presidency of Carlos Julio Castellanos, the Seminar was officially opened by the highest authority of the city of Bucaramanga, Mayor Juan Carlos Cárdenas.
Alongside Castellanos were the members of the AIPS America Executive Committee: Nicaraguan Moisés Ávalos as vice president, Mexican Alberto Rico as treasurer, Venezuelan Luis Vargas as secretary, and Ecuadorian Wálter Saltos as director. Also present were Bolivian Fernando Nurmberg as vice president for South America and Guatemalan Érick Álvarez as vice president for Central America and the Caribbean.
Special guests from Colombia included Faiver Hoyos Hernández, President of ACORD Colombia and member of the AIPS America Honour Tribunal; Estewil Quesada, as a member of the fiscal commission; and Jairo Giraldo Jiménez, from the training committee.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING The Executive Committee and the Bureau of the International Sports Press Association of America – AIPS America – convened at the Neomundo International Convention Centre in the city of Bucaramanga, studying initiatives aimed at consolidating the association in the coming years.
Parallel to the executive sessions, which included representatives from nine countries in the Americas, attendees participated in a series of exhibitions and conferences on the current state of sports journalism on the continent and its implications in the era of digitalisation, artificial intelligence and social media.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Fifty journalists and communication students attended the international conference on Artificial Intelligence and sports journalism conducted by specialist engineer Adonai Vega.
From Paris, Vincent Amalvy, Director of Special Operations and Major Events at AFP (Agence France-Presse) delved into the fabulous world of Artificial Intelligence to clarify concepts and guide today’s sports journalists on the virtues and benefits of this new approach to communication.
SOCIAL MEDIA Moisés Ávalos, press officer for the Olympic Committee of Nicaragua and the Football Federation of that country, and the first voice in baseball broadcasts on the programme «Tu Nueva Radio Ya» and host of the television programme «Fantasticos Deportes 13,» analysed the alternatives in the face of the invasion of social media as a profession or hobby.
Luis Vargas, Secretary-General of AIPS America and press officer for the World Boxing Association (AMB), discussed the forced changes that media is undergoing.
CELEBRATION In the evening, with live broadcast on Canal TRO, the celebration of the 40 years of AIPS America took place.
The international seminar continues on its second day at the Neomundo Convention Centre on Friday, sponsored by the Municipality of Bucaramanga and the Organisation of ACORD Colombia, the Santander section of ACORD, with the support of the organization PRENSA LIBRE. It will be a new opportunity to delve into the world of technology immersed in journalism.
WATCH the 40th anniversary celebration of AIPS America here:
