George Killian: The Olympic Games as well as the Universiades shape national leaders 03.08.2010

In Kazan he held a meeting with Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, visited a few Universiade venues and also gave an interview to kazan2013.com.

- George, you’ve recently arrived from Moscow where the International Sports Forum “Russia – Country of Sports” was held. What impression did it make on you?
- A very good one. The forum was organised on high level. All the guests are notable. There were not only Russian representatives but foreign delegates as well. I think that they gained a lot of new experience about your country, about the work that is carried out to prepare the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and the 2013 Universiade in Kazan.

- The Forum featured a major event – the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding of the FISU International Education Centre in Kazan. How large-scale this project is?
- For one thing this centre is first in the world. Undoubtedly it’s significant not only to FISU but also to Kazan since it’s the 2013 Universiade heritage. The cooperation of FISU with the Organising Committee for the 2013 Summer Student Games and the Kazan 2013 Executive Committee will not end with the Games close. We’ll have places and reasons to come back.
We feel hopeful for the future and believe that we’ve made the right choice. Al the more Kazan is the city of studentship that unites the world.
It’s hard to tell how significant this project is. But I’m confident that year by year it will expand.

- What the FISU Education Centre structure look like?
- Good question. It’s the Russian party that structures the FISU Education Centre and its programme but naturally in cooperation with FISU.
Speaking about something physical like a building for instance we can advice how to construct it. But it has to be built with account taken of the requirements of the local community. We just show what the Centre will look like in course of time and the rest is in your hands. We put our faith in the President of your Republic who is a huge sports enthusiast. I met him in Moscow and I met him in Kazan. He takes interest in our activity here as the FISU goals and the goals of Russia coincide.

- How did you come up with the idea of founding the International Centre?
- I think that the idea came from the RF Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy Vitaly Mutko and from the team that had worked on bringing the Universiade to Kazan. The Universiade Village, a unique student campus, is under construction at the moment. It is to accommodate nearly 8,000 students as early as this year. Once you start you cannot stop. I’m confident that when you initiate something like this new ideas are born in your mind. It’s just the whole team was eager to make Kazan number one of this part of Russia and even of whole Russia. Ar present Tatarstan is equal to anything.

- You’ve mentioned that the Education Centre is the first one in the world. It means much to FISU and Tatarstan indeed.
- Yes, it does. It’s possible that in the sequel such Centres will be founded in other cities as well which is important to students. That’s precisely the point. Each time I explain this to people I say that victories are not the be-all of the Olympic Games or of the Universiades although they count as well. The sporting events shape something more – personalities that once become national leaders.

- I see that you carry a watch made in Russia?
- Yes. It’s a present made by your President Rustam Minnikhanov. He gave it to me a few years ago. It has a 1943 design. I carry it all the time. When I was young I was in the Second World War. In 1945 together with the American allies we crossed the Elbe River and waited for the Russian Army coming from Berlin. It was the first time I met Russians. This watch is dear to me as a reminder of those days as they have a 1943 design and as a souvenir of Kazan as well.