Leaders from several countries discuss ITKF action plans and goals

Monday and Tuesday meetings addressed issues such as business management based on ITKF’s vision, mission and values

ITKF Strategic Planning
December 5, 2019
By ISABELA LEMOS I Photos BUDOPRESS
Curitiba – PR

In the first three days of the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF) events taking place this week in Curitiba, the Board of Directors Meeting brought together leaders from several countries to discuss ITKF business management and goals, also set plans of action for the other federations in the world. Authorities from different countries met at the gymnasium of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR).

Canadian Richard Jorgensen defends the ideas presented by his work group

Vinicius Santana, or Vina, ITKF’s strategic planning consultant, who coordinated the meeting, explained that the purpose of the meetings was to create a future vision of the institution aligned with the principles of karate and the spirit of budo. For this, all strategic planning has been structured so that it can hear different opinions, directing federations at the global level, giving plurality to the debate.

The first stage of the meeting addressed the future of the institution and the importance of looking ahead.

The first stage of the meeting addressed the future of the institution and the importance of looking ahead. The discussion was based on design thinking, but brainstorming with the structure of the swatch, which is to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in a given case. Then, ideas were presented, which will be compiled and presented at the general meeting of the entity. Was also discussed, the possibility of establishing a global vision connected to the 17 UN objectives, analyzing which ones make the most sense for ITKF as an institution.

In the socio-educational aspect, the teaching and the transmission of knowledge for several generations was discussed

Vina emphasized that during the meetings, there was still the unfolding of four themes: socio-education, management, politics and competitions.

“In the socio-educational aspect, we discussed the teaching and the transmission of knowledge for several generations, the aspect of scientific research, social inclusion and the training of managers and leaders of federations of each country”, explained Santana. Another point addressed was the issue of management, asking how to promote actions that allow managers of federations to acquire knowledge in the area of people management, crisis, costs and taxes. Thereby, national entities would become economically self-sufficient. “As for politics, the issue has been approached to integrate different people and cultures into an open dialogue that adds a glimpse to the expansion of ITKF”, he added.

Groups of leaders, teachers and athletes from different ethnic backgrounds and origins have generated concepts that will now be evaluated.

At last, Santana brought up issues such as management, marketing plan, communication and competitions. The meeting ended with the following provocation: “How is it possible to build the future while maintaining the principles and teachings of the masters of traditional karate and budo, that is, maintaining the origins but connecting with modernity in technology, with young people? and different profiles that are emerging from new generations?” The issue will be discussed at upcoming ITKF meetings.

“The discussion of strategic planning is vital to  understand what the people who make up the institution think about it and its organization, what they expect, and how they see what it will be in a few years.”

In the three meetings there was an unfolding on socio-education, management, politics and competitions.

At the last meeting, groups of six to seven people – at least three of different nationalities – were asked to present a goal and action for each topic discussed. Santana said that in this way, the leaders themselves feel part of the construction of strategic planning. It is important that all the actions that will later be linked to the mission, vision and values have been built from the ITKF leaders and members, which generates credibility and trust and thus a better future for the institution can be projected. At the end, information from the three meetings will be compiled and reported to the ITKF president and directors to decide which path to follow.

Important proposals came up at the Board of Directors Meeting

For Gilberto Gaertner, president of ITKF, the discussion of strategic planning is vital to understanding what the people who make up the institution think about it and its organization, what they expect and how they will see it in a few years. The president said these meetings were designed to project ITKF’s future, redefining what it is and where it is going.

“I think we started with a management review process to look to the future. For this, we need to see what we have already done and the future scenarios, in order to develop the organization in line with the current world and projections of future scenarios. Each of the ruled areas was thoroughly discussed and the last step was consolidation. Actions have been proposed for each area, so we have concrete ideas of what to do from these discussions. We had a sampling of several different cultures and we will work on this material to formulate a unique ITKF proposal based on this affiliate thinking”, said the president.

Leaders, teachers and athletes played a leading role in the meetings

Part of the karatekas who attended the Board of Directors Meeting 2019