INWA is pleased to advise that Nordic Walking is about to start in the Republic of Iraq. The Federation of Iraqi Sports Companies have formed a Nordic Walking committee to actively promote this activity in Iraq.
“Iraq is the first INWA member country in the middle-east, which may pave the way for Nordic Walking to spread to other countries in this part of the world”, says Aki Karihtala, the president of INWA. “With Iraq following recent members such as Korea in joining INWA, the number of INWA member countries is now almost 20 and we have many new member discussions going on”.
The President of the Iraqi Sports Companies, Mr. Akram Hatem Hussein Al-Awadi is pleased with the agreement: “We see a great potential with Nordic Walking in Iraq. Promotion of Nordic Walking will first be started in Baghdad where many of the opinion leaders can be found within the field of company sports. The idea is to present Nordic Walking both as a recreational and competitive sport which allows us to promote Nordic Walking to wider age groups. The nature of Nordic Walking is very suitable for the culture of Iraq and we see a bright future for it”
The International Nordic Walking Federation (INWA) is the Global Governing Body for Nordic Walking. INWA is charged with safeguarding the principles and rules of Nordic Walking and setting the standards for how Nordic Walking is taught, practiced and promoted. INWA was founded in the year 2000 and is registered in Finland, the mother land of Nordic Walking and is the largest international Nordic Walking Federation in the world with official member organisations in close to 20 countries. INWA and its member organisations all over the world have educated thousands of instructors in accordance with the official “INWA 10 step method”. INWA works in co-operation with professionals in sports, health and fitness and the main function is to develop innovative educational programs to continue to safeguard Nordic Walking practices and help member organisations promote Nordic Walking in their countries. In addition to education, INWA organises international congresses, recreational Nordic Walking events and international Nordic Walking competitions, such as the INWA World Cup, INWA World Championships and INWA Nordic Hill Racing events.”
