The International Canoe Federation attended the Apsara Conference 2025 of Alibaba Cloud in Hangzhou, China to discuss the digitalisation and sustainable development of sports.
Chenglong Jin, Chief Representative of the ICF Hangzhou Office, and Cyril Nivel, Global Director of Operations at the ICF, were invited by Alibaba Cloud to participate in the conference held from September 24 to 26.
Mr Jin and Mr Nivel attended the meeting where they exchanged views with Liyun Sun, Business Technology Engineer at Alibaba Cloud Europe.
Among the topics discussed included digitalisation, intelligence and sustainable development of sports.
A booth was set up in Hall Three of the International Convention and Exhibition Centre to showcase the cooperative achievements made between the ICF and Alibaba Cloud in recent years.
Those areas include digital management, carbon footprint measurement, immersive viewing experience, and digital restoration of historical archives which attracted the attention of participants.
The successful collaboration between the ICF and Alibaba Cloud was established with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in October 2023.
Last year, the ICF and Alibaba Cloud signed the “AI-Driven Sustainability Strategy Cooperation” to leverage AI technologies to promote the green and sustainable development of paddle sports events.
ICF President Thomas Konietzko was a panellist at the Alibaba Cloud Global Summit in Paris, France, in May 2024 where he underlined how AI will support the delivery of climate-positive actions at the ICF’s events.
During the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the ICF and Alibaba Cloud jointly showcased their collaborative achievements in advancing sustainability goals and expanding the digitalisation of canoeing with an exhibition of VR Kayak Esports at the International Broadcasting Centre.
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