Peer factor: MEMOS celebrates 30th anniversary with innovative Rome Convention

If you work in the Olympic Movement, take a quick look around. Chances are there’s at least one graduate of the Executive Masters in Sport Organisations Management (MEMOS) driving change at your organisation right now.

Numbering over 1,200 across the globe, MEMOS alumni occupy roles at every level of leadership, from administrators and managers to presidents and secretaries general. Eight currently serve as IOC members.

Over the years, these “MEMOSians” have quietly become the connective tissue of the global sports industry.  With its first edition launching in 1995, what began primarily as a European initiative has grown steadily into a global network of graduates representing 198 nationalities today.

Their true scale of influence comes into sharpest focus when gathered in person, as 121 of them did from 3 - 5 December 2025 in Rome for the 3^rd MEMOS Convention. Organised to coincide with the postgraduate programme’s 30^th anniversary, the Convention struck a masterful balance between honouring its past and embracing the future.

Delivered “by MEMOSians for MEMOSians,” every detail – from the three-day curriculum down to the logistics – was managed by the alumni themselves. Impressively, each speaker at the event was a former student, creating a powerful, peer-to-peer learning environment that built on the rich diversity of the MEMOS experience.

“There is so much knowledge, experience, and learnings within this group of people that we knew we could create a lot of high-level, wonderful content,” said Vita Balsyte, Senior Development Manager at World Aquatics and one of six MEMOS volunteers who made up the planning committee for the event.

Some of that wonderful content was delivered by keynote speakers Gévrise Émane, an Olympic judoka from France, and Javier Eduardo Villarreal Doldan of Argentina. In keeping with the main theme of the Convention, “The Future of the Olympic Movement,” Villarreal spoke about how artificial intelligence can be aligned with the Olympic values, while Émane presented on Safe Sport, sharing her journey and experiences as an Olympian while providing practical steps for athlete protection and support.

Reflecting on the calibre of the speakers at the event, Émane praised MEMOS’ ability to produce capable graduates confident enough to put the knowledge and tools gained in class into practice. “It also reflects the strength of the MEMOS network – and just how powerful that network truly is,” she added.

Elsewhere, up to 60 MEMOSians helped lead interactive breakout sessions with assistance from MEMOS professors and tutors. Topics ranged from governance and sports tourism to driving social change and building sustainable high-performance systems.

 A number of participants also shared their MEMOS experiences, highlighting in often heartfelt and emotional speeches how the programme contributed to their professional and personal development.

Typical comments included: “MEMOS opens the minds of participants to reflect on challenges and opportunities inside the organisation, the first and key step to implement changes.”  MEMOSian Cristina Vasilianov of the NOC of the Republic of Moldova replied: “MEMOS really helped me understand how the Olympic Movement works beyond speeches or assemblies. You start to see how everything fits together.”

The spirit of practical application is baked into the MEMOS DNA. As the premier part-time executive programme supported by Olympic Solidarity, the course requires every student to develop a strategic project for implementation within their home organisation. To celebrate the long-term legacy of this work, Olympic Solidarity unveiled the inaugural MEMOS Impact Award at the 2025 Convention.

After a vote by their peers, Manuel Parga Landa took top honours for his work designing and implementing a sustainability plan at the Spanish Olympic Committee. He received the award directly from IOC President Kirsty Coventry.

The Convention concluded with the MEMOS alumni gathering to watch the journey of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic torch as it wound through the streets of Rome, a powerful metaphor for the programme itself. Just as the flame connects cities and generations, the MEMOS network continues to gather pace, with each graduate well-equipped to continue driving real-world change across the international sports industry for years to come.