2025 Virtus General Assembly Takes Place At Cairo, Egypt

The General Assembly of the Virtus, International Federation for People with Intellectual Impairment, began this morning, Saturday, November 8, 2025, in Cairo. This two-day meeting includes the election of a new board of directors.

The meeting opened with a welcome address delivered via videoconference by Dr Ashraf Sobhy, Minister of Youth and Sports, who is currently visiting Saudi Arabia.

Virtus delegation representing 45 countries participated in this General Assembly, including Mr. Marc Truffaut, President of Virtus, Dr. Amr El-Haddad, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Dr. Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Director General of the General Administration of Specialised Federations, Engineer Amal Mobadda, President of the Egyptian Federation for People with Intellectual Disabilities, member of the International Federation, and Vice-President of the Egyptian Paralympic Committee and Dr. Ashraf El-Agili, Vice-President of the Egyptian Federation for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Treasurer of the Egyptian Paralympic Committee.

At the opening of the proceedings, engineer Amal Mobadda presented Egypt’s preparations for hosting the Virtus Global Games 2027. She also gave participants a tour of the stadiums and hotels that will host the competition, drawing admiration from all the delegates.

The delegates, representing 45 countries, had visited the venues designated for the Virtus Global Games 2027. The delegation members expressed their admiration for the quality of Egypt’s sports infrastructure. The meetings will continue tomorrow and will include the election of the new Virtus board of directors.

The first day continued with a presentation by Executive Director Nick Parr, reflecting on some of the major projects Virtus did over the past two years, followed by a presentation on Virtus International Basketball Federation (VIBF), a research update by Debbie Van Biesen, an Introduction to Baseball and Softball by Marco Ienna and Mittia Berardi from World Baseball Softball Confederation.

The afternoon session kicked off with Ian Conyers, Virtus Governing Board member, presenting with an update on FIS and Virtus’ discussions around the winter sports and Paralympic Reinclusion.

The second day of the General Assembly will start with the election of the Virtus Governing Board for multiple positions, including the President, Vice-President and General Secretary, etc.

The day will continue with a reflection on the journey of Lenine Cunha as IPC’s Athlete Council member and the announcement of the Virtus Athlete Council, followed by a round table conference on “Women and Girls Inclusion in sports.”

The delegates will also participate in three focus discussions on Anti-Doping, led by Virtus Anti-Doping Officer, Juliana Soares, the importance of collaborative Marketing & Communications led by Virtus Marketing and Communications Officer, Mousumi Mazumdar and Sport Readiness, led by Virtus Sport and Competition manager, John Pearce.