Over 40 attendees took part in a special day dedicated to FIA Club Correspondents, bringing together the individuals who connect the Mobility Clubs both to the FIA and to each other all around the world.

Club Correspondents play a significant role for the FIA in its communication and membership outreach, and as this year’s FIA Mobility Conference in Helsinki drew to a close, it provided the ideal opportunity to bring many of the Correspondents together in the same room.

The day began with an interactive introductory session that saw old friends and new Correspondents come together, and highlighted the importance of dialogue and cooperation between themselves and the FIA.

Setting out some key guidelines for Correspondents moving forward, the session worked to clearly define roles, best practices and regional activities for Clubs in the future. It also highlighted the frequency of future meetings, which will now take place twice a year – once at Regional and once at World level.

Following the introduction, which was focused on the ideas that form the foundation of the FIA Club Correspondents’ Programme, attentions then turned to the more practical structures that are soon to be updated and augmented to reflect the globally c onnected nature of mobility as it evolves.

A presentation from the IT Department introduced a new project called FIA Networks. It is a new, comprehensive tool, which will provide a more flexible, intuitive and cost effective platform for Correspondents and FIA delegates to use to share information online.

Bringing together many core features including up to date data, extended information on Tourism Services, Business Services, Projects, and Communities, the new system is already in development and is set to be opened to Correspondents in summer of this year. It also features an all-new electronic Directory and interactive map.

The final morning session expounded the vision and business plan of the FIA Mobility Division – a highly significant moment as Andrew McKellar, FIA Secretary-General of Automobile Mobility and Tourism, presented the FIA’s ideas and plans for the future of mobility.

After lunch, which was an ideal opportunity for some all-important networking between Correspondents, Professor Isabel Aguilera from the FIA University gave a talk entitled “Leading: Learnings from a Life Journey” to aid the personal development of attendees.

This informative presentation on leadership focused on key areas of imagination, determination, resilience and collaboration, adding another string to the bows of the FIA Club Correspondents.

There was an opportunity for a family photo to commemorate this successful coming together before the session was brought to a close. The community took the chance to say a fond farewell to two Correspondents who are retiring their positions. Sasa Petric from AMZS in Slovenia and Egil Otter from the Norwegian Automobile Federation are both leaving for new pastures and were wished the best by all their colleagues.