Dear Friends,
I want to thank you all for your overwhelming support during our Special Congress.

The Special Congress was a momentous day in our sport’s history. Your resounding vote in favour of constitutional reform will usher in a new era of transparency and accountability at the IAAF. It is a critical step in rebuilding trust with our athletes, sponsors and the public in both our organisation and athletics as a whole. It will also provide the platform to deliver our vision to be a top 4 global sport by 2020.

With these new foundations, it is a truly exciting period for our sport and I am grateful for the trust that you have invested in me and my Council colleagues at this time. I also appreciate the engagement, advice and input that you provided throughout this process which was so essential in shaping the reform proposals.

I thought it would be helpful, as we look forward to briefly outline the next steps.

We are moving quickly ahead with the set-up of the Integrity Unit to ensure it has the right people in place and is fully operational by 3 April 2017. The Integrity Unit will ensure that we are truly independent and our athletes are safeguarded and protected as they should be. As part of this process, Council will be approving the Vetting Rules and the composition of the Vetting Panel in the next two weeks.

The Rules, which underpin the core principles set out in the Constitutions and for example include integrity unit procedures, code of conduct, transparency standards and competition rules, will be drafted over the coming months by a working group, which will continue to include representation from all of our six Areas. These Rules will be presented to Council for approval at the scheduled February and the remaining Council meetings in 2017.

We will also be setting up the Presidential Taskforce for Gender Leadership. Again this will include representation from all Areas and I will be seeking nominations from Member Federations and the Area Associations for this important initiative.

A Convention will now be held alongside the 2017 Congress in London and will be a forum to discuss the future of the sport with representatives from across the global athletics family. We will therefore be requesting input from Member Federations for topics for discussion at the 2017 Convention. This is to ensure that the Convention programme is beneficial and relevant to you all. As I highlighted in my speech to Congress, one topic for discussion at the Convention will be area representation and how we ensure global representation across all bodies of the IAAF. To inform this discussion I will establish a taskforce to look specifically at other organisations and best practice.

You’ll recall a central focus of my manifesto vision was to empower the Member Federations and the Areas. This is why we are seeking greater input and inclusion from you in all that we do. At our Executive Board meeting before Congress, I agreed with the six Area Presidents that there would be more engagement and collaboration between the IAAF and the Area Associations so that we can collectively better support you and work together to deliver our strategy and vision.

On this basis, I encourage you to regularly engage with your Area Associations so that they can be a proper conduit for information and action. You should note that there are scheduled meetings on 3 February 2017 between the IAAF and each Area. To ensure that these meetings are effective and include a dynamic, solutions-focused discussion of the key challenges and opportunities specific to each Area and its Member Federations’ please do contact your Areas to contribute and help inform the meetings.

If applicable, Member Federations should also liaise with their Area Associations in developing proposals relating to amendments to the approved Constitutions, particularly regarding any Area specific concerns.

Finally, as mentioned in my speech to Congress, for those of you that have not applied for the 2017 Athletics Olympic Dividend, I urge you to do this before the deadline of 31 December 2016. I established this grant to provide you with the flexibility to develop athletics in your country in line with your federation’s long term strategic development needs and I really hope you take advantage of this opportunity.

Thank you once again for your support and willingness to embrace change for the good of our sport.

I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with you all and look forward to seeing you again soon. But before then, enjoy the holiday season and should you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me.