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Special President’s Message: Good News about Court Cases, Documentary about the ITF...
(September 18th, 2007)
To All National Associations Affiliated with the ITF: Spring is coming for those of you who live in the Southern hemisphere, and I am sure you are feeling energized and ready to take on new projects. For those of you in countries in the Northern hemisphere, I hope that you have had an enjoyable summer with time to relax and "recharge your batteries". I am sure all of you have given some thought to how you could improve the services your ITF Taekwon-Do club offers to your students and have considered new ways to attract potential students. Now is the time to start working on these projects. September marks the end of summer vacations and the return to school, as well as the beginning of a new season of Taekwon-Do activities. Here are a few announcements o start off this new season: Good News about Court Cases The ITF, conjointly with the Canadian Taekwon-Do Federation International, took legal action to ensure that the ITF name and trademarked symbols could not be used by Master Choi Jung Hwa. I am pleased to announce that both cases have been decided in our favor:
In another very important case, in August 2007 Judge Dr. Kluger of the Austrian court confirmed the judgment by default made by Judge Susanne Korn in September 2005. That judgment stated that the Congress held in Warsaw in 2003 was legal according to the ITF Constitution and that the members of our Board of Directors are the legitimate leaders of the ITF. Moreover, it confirms that we are the ITF that is officially registered in Vienna. The Chang Ung group has lodged an appeal of the most recent decision, but it is highly unlikely that they could present any elements that would result in the decision’s being overturned. A team at the President’s Office is preparing a summary of all the court cases and the supporting documents. In the near future we will make this document available online.
An Interview with ITF President regarding the updated legal status of the ITF Documentary about the ITF As planned, footage for a short documentary film about the ITF was recorded during the recent World Championships in Quebec City (Canada). The 11-minute video document has now been completed. The video describes the vision of ITF Taekwon-Do through its four facets. An interview with the Chairman of each ITF Standing Committee gives viewers an idea of the important work done by that committee. In addition, there is some great action footage highlighting each type of competition that takes place at an ITF World Championship. The documentary also includes video of General Choi Hong Hi explaining how he developed Taekwon-Do. We are very grateful to Com-Do Corporation for giving us permission to use this video footage of Our Founder. Although the documentary has not yet been released, you can preview it by clicking on the following links:
The documentary will soon be available on the official ITF Website. In addition, versions with sub-titles in various languages will be made available for use by our National Associations and local ITF clubs. This documentary will help us make a good start toward increasing the visibility of the ITF, and I can assure you that we will be working very hard on this aspect in the future. The Organizing Committee of the 2007 World Championships spent a total of 150 000 USD on communications for the event. There were daily live Internet Web casts of the competitions. Video footage of the competitions and other activities was used for television broadcasts, for the souvenir DVD, and for the production of the documentary video. The goal was to publicize the World Championships and ITF Taekwon-Do, and this goal has certainly been achieved. ITF Taekwon-Do is an excellent product, and it has a great history. I believe that now is the time to promote the ITF. We want to help more people enjoy the benefits of living the Taekwon-Do way of life. The ITF Year of the Family As you can read in my latest President’s Message for September & October on our Website, the 42nd year of existence of the ITF has been designated the Year of the Family. This thematic year is consistent with the goals to our organization, since we promote fundamental values through the teaching of the Do. As our primary concern is the development of the ITF, I think it is a good strategy to encourage all members of the family to participate in ITF Taekwon-Do. Everybody can benefit from the practice of Taekwon-Do. A New Assistant in the President’s Office 
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Maxime Bujold as my assistant, replacing Ms Cécilia Trân who has decided to concentrate on her university studies. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Cécilia for her hard work and dedication over the last three years. I chose Maxime as my assistant because he worked with the Organizing Committee of the ITF World Championship Quebec 2007 as member of the technical committee along with Mr. Kurt Ottesen. This experience allowed him to learn how the ITF operates and gave him the opportunity to meet various ITF committee members and others involved in Taekwon-Do around the world. Maxime holds a 4th degree black belt. He also has good technical knowledge and competition experience. But most importantly, he has proven to be a hard worker, and he speaks and writes fluently in both English and French. Maxime will be working at the President’s office on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 9:00 to 17:00 Eastern Time. One of his duties will be to follow up on all e-mails sent to the President’s Office. You can write to Maxime at bujold.m@tkd-itf.org. The World Championship Souvenir DVD is ready It is now possible to find out the details of the 2007 World Championship Souvenir DVD. This 80-minute long DVD covers the most memorable moments and the most spectacular finals if the competition. Find out more on the World Championship website. I wish you all a successful and very fulfilling season in Taekwon-Do. |
