President Petra Sörling Visits ITTF Foundation Headquarters

ITTF and ITTF Foundation President Petra Sörling visited the Foundation Headquarters in Leipzig, Germany, in November 2022. During the visit, President Sörling had fruitful meetings with several stakeholders, including the Mayor of Leipzig, Special Olympics International, and International Coaching Course (ITK) Leipzig University to shape future collaborations in utilising sports for positive social change.

On 20-22 November 2022, the ITTF Foundation received the ITTF and ITTF Foundation President Petra Sörling at its headquarters in Leipzig, Germany.

“As a president of the ITTF Foundation, it is a priority for me to come here to see our work utilising table tennis as a tool to bring positive social change. The Foundation is also making a significant contribution in the areas of sustainability and equity. This work sets us apart from other sports.” - Petra Sörling, ITTF and ITTF Foundation President.

President Sörling also had a chance to meet Leipzig’s Mayor, Burkhard Jung. This high-level exchange targeted a potential project collaboration between the ITTF Foundation and the city of Leipzig.

“We are a sport that is not only bringing events to cities but also delivering significant positive social impact. The Foundation has the capacity for this. We aim to see that our legacy stays once the event leaves the city or the country.” - President Sörling.
Sörling became the first female president of the ITTF in 2021, pledging to modernise table tennis and increase the sport’s sustainability and diversity opportunities. Throughout her leadership, Sörling also devoted her time to integrating para table tennis into the table tennis family.

The Special Olympics committee visited the Foundation headquarters and met with President Sörling during her visit. Special Olympics strives to create a better world by fostering the acceptance and inclusion of all people. They aim to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in various Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

“It is a popular sport in many regions where Special Olympics is not a well-known entity. That is going to be big games for people through the sport of table tennis when we work with ITTF, learn about the Special Olympics in the area that people do not know. We should position our work better in our framework. It tells a compelling story about the way that the ITTF Foundation is doing.” - Jon-Paul St. Germain, Vice President of Sport Development for Special Olympics International.

“With the depth of community-based activation, it does have great potential. We are only reaching 2-3% of the world’s population. In many parts of the world where the ITTF Foundation has a great strong presence, we have a lot of potential.” continued Fiona Murray, “The Foundation is supporting the community to make a difference, and that is an exceptional thing that is happening here that does not happen in other sports organisations. They have a solid focus on ensuring that every project hits on sustainable development goals. It is exciting for us to work with the ITTF Foundation in the future.” Fiona Murray, Director, Coaching and Education for Special Olympics International.

President Sörling furthers her visit to meet Daniel Eckert-Lindhammer, the Director of the International Coaching Course (ITK) of the Sports Science Faculty of Leipzig University. ITK is a postgraduate study course for coaches and physical education teachers from developing countries focusing on sports for children and juveniles.

This exchange targeted the collaborative actions on the existing postgraduate study available in four languages and the upcoming master programme “International Sports Development”.

President Sörling concluded her visit with a lunch with the Leipzig-based ITTF Foundation staff. We thank President Sörling for the inspiration. It was a brief yet fruitful visit with significant influence on several projects that were soon unveiled.