As the Foundation turned a year older and got officially registered as a not-for-profit organisation under German law, this date marks an important celebration of how far the vision for the  Foundation has come.

The ITTF Foundation was established by the ITTF in May 2018 and today furthers the work started in 1999 with the realization of the ITTF’s global development program that not only focused on the improvement of the sport of table tennis but also of its use to promote humanitarian development worldwide.

Within that frame, table tennis was successfully used as a means to support projects for the promotion of women and girls, persons with a disability, children and adolescents with problematic social background, and refugees. Further, there were and are projects that respond to natural and human crisis and contribute to reconstruction after wars or natural catastrophes.

These projects over the years have left footprints across the world reaching more than 250,000 million people. This year the ITTF Foundation launched groundbreaking projects such as the Athletes Emergency Fund which aims to ease the suffering for continental or internationally recognized table tennis players caused by accident or sudden illness and the Dream Building Fund which provides funding for sports for development and peace projects aligned with the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

In October 11th to 13th, the date was also set for the inaugural Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championships in New York. A first of its kind event from the table tennis for health (TT4Health) that promotes the physical and psycho-social benefits of play, raising awareness of the important role of sports for good health and well being for all.

ITTF Foundation Rally

With TT4ALL – TT2GO we are participating in the #BeActive European Week of Sports (September 23-30), the Leipzig Intercultural Weeks (September 15-29),  and the Trim and Fitness International Sport for All Association (TAFISA) to present the proclaimed “World Walking Days” to the public.

Six different stations with activities representing the Foundation’s six different programs will have table tennis tables with trained table tennis coaches and volunteers offering games that anyone can play without prior table tennis knowledge.

This showcases table tennis as a sport that everyone can play, regardless of age, gender, social status, culture, physical or mental conditions. Playfully, participants will learn about one program in each station and stand a chance to win cool prizes! The right answers for the ITTF Foundation Rally are only possible through participation – which can be an added bonus to making friends!

Come take part in the fun & games and meet African para-table tennis champion Ibrahim Hamato and ITTF Foundation Ambassador Sarah Hanffou who is also the founder of Ping Sans Frontieres. We look forward to meeting you!

Also join our call to action for the Global Week to #Act4SDGs here. Every individual action counts as we work together to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It’s ‘Solidarity Through Table Tennis’.

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