Programme

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Keynote Speakers

Claude Sobry, University of Lille, France.

Professor Claude Sobry concluded his PhD in Economic Sciences. His fields of researches are for years the economy of sport and tourism and, more recently, of sport tourism. During ten years, 2004-2014, he lead a research teams in social sciences applied to sport.  He organized and led a Sport Management master degree (2005-2010) at the faculty of sport and physical education in Lille then he organized the international Master In Sports Tourism Engineering (IMISTE) leading a consortium of 5 European University. In 2009 he organized the International Research Network In Sport Tourism (IRNIST). At the faculty of Social sciences in Lille he taught the economic theories in “economic dynamic”, “macroeconomy” and “money and finance”. At the faculty of sport he teaches economy of sport and sport-tourism. He also taught or teaches in Romania, Algeria, Greece, Lebanon and participates to conferences all around the world. He published 8 books and many papers concerning the economy of sport and sport-tourism.

Derek Van Rheenen, University of Berkeley, USA.

Derek Van Rheenen’s research interests include social theory, cultural studies of sport and sports tourism. A former Academic All-American and professional soccer player, Van Rheenen teaches courses on sport, culture, and education.  Van Rheenen directs the Cultural Studies of Sport in Education Master's degree concentration for students studying the intersections of school and sport. He also directs the Athletic Study Center at U.C. Berkeley. Dr. Van Rheenen has been a Visiting Professor at the International University of Monaco, is an invited speaker at national and international conferences, and is regularly interviewed about the role of sport in society and the intersections of sport and schooling, particularly American college sports.  Van Rheenen is a founding member of the International Research Network in Sports Tourism (IRNIST) and presented a keynote speech last year at the first annual conference at the University of Lille, France.  The paper he presented, "A Skunk at the garden party:  The Sochi Olympics, state-sponsored homophobia and prospects for human rights through mega sporting events," was recently published in the Journal of Sports & Tourism.

Mathieu Hoeberigs, European Commission

General Director of the Development Unit of the Tourism Policy of the European Commission.

Sean Gammon, University of Central Lancashire, UK.

Dr Sean Gammon is based at the School of Sport, Tourism and the Outdoors at the University of Central Lancashire. He has been actively researching in the area of sport tourism for nearly 20 years and was responsible for designing and delivering the first BA (Hons) Sport Tourism undergraduate degree back in 1998. He is widely published in the area, primarily focussing on sport tourist customer motivation, nostalgia and heritage. His latest book focusses on Heritage and the Olympics; offering an international perspective on how the Olympics generate genuine and meaningful heritage encounters. In addition he continues to contribute to the field of leisure, recently co-editing (with Elkington) a new text on Contemporary Perspectives in Leisure, published by Routledge.

Sandro Carnicelli, University of the West of Scotland, Scotland.

Dr. Sandro Carnicelli is the Programme Leader for Events Management and Tourism Management at the University of the West of Scotland. Sandro has been awarded the Skills Active Outdoor Recreation Research Scholarship (New Zealand, 2010) and the Carnegie Trust Grant (Scotland, 2011). Sandro has published articles in international journals including Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Annals of Leisure Research and World Leisure. He is also a member of the ABRATUR (International Academy for the Development of Tourism Research in Brazil), and of the Centre for Recreation Research (University of Otago-New Zealand), and he is on the Executive Board (Treasurer) of the Leisure Studies Association and on the Advisory Board of the Annals of Leisure Research.

Conference Structure

The conference will have four types of sessions:

1. Plenary sessions (opening session, keynote speaker sessions, IRNIST meeting and conference closing session). Each keynote speech will last 30 minutes;
   
2. Parallel sessions. These sessions will present the subtopics of the conference in order to make it easier for the audience to choose the sessions according to content. Each presentation will last 15 minutes;
3. Poster sessions. Will last 5 minutes per presentation.
4. Social and cultural programme: Full-day guided visit to Coimbra Old Town (World Heritage by Unesco); Gala dinner with typical Portuguese music (Fado); meals; coffee-breaks. These events are great opportunities to establish contacts with other researchers and professionals.

See Registration for more details.

Day 10th and 11th of December are dedicated to the scientific programme and the day 12th of December is dedicated to the social day (guided visit to Coimbra Old Town)