Int'l conference on comparative physical education, sport held in Macao

MACAO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The 16th Biennial Conference of International Society for Comparative Physical Education and Sport was held here on Wednesday, which was attended by over 300 scholars and professionals from 32 nations and regions.

The conference was co-organized by the International Society for Comparative Physical Education and Sport (ISCPES), and the University of Macao. During the four-day event, the attendees will present over 200 research papers on relevant subjects.

ISCPES was founded in 1978 at the First International Seminar on Comparative Physical Education and Sport held at the Wingate Institute of Physical Education in Israel. Since then, conferences have been held biennially and the University of Macao is the host of the 16th Biennial Conference in 2008, which also marks the 30th anniversary of ISCPES.

In addition to producing a variety of publications, such as International Sports Studies, Conference Proceedings and electronic publications, "the Society organizes important international meetings on a biennial and annual basis to provide academics with the opportunity to exchange information and to disseminate their current research", said Darwin Semotiuk, president of ISCPES.

The conference adopts "Global Merging" as the main theme which matches the dream of Beijing Olympic and signifies a new thought and direction for people working together in sport and physical education, said Iu Vai Pan, rector of the University of Macao.

"I hope that this conference will serve as the platform for scholars to search and discuss various issues that our world today is confronting in meeting this generic demand," he added.