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����������� is pleased to announce that Yannick Saint-Germain has returned to ����������� as the World Congress and Events Director. Yannick will lead the Organizing Committee for future World Congresses and coordinate the related bidding processes.

Born in Ottawa (Ontario, Canada), Yannick Saint-Germain grew up in Gatineau (Québec, Canada) before moving to �ѴDzԳٰ�é���� to complete a university degree (BA) in history. He now calls �ѴDzԳٰ�é���� home. Yannick has long been drawn to politics and event planning. He was an active member of the university student movement, and he went on to play a part in Québec’s political and electoral organizations at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.

Over the past twenty years, Yannick has helped organize a variety of sports and cultural events held in Canada. He was a member of the organizing committee for the following events: Francophonie Summit (Moncton, 1999), Francophonie Games (Ottawa-Hull, 2001), FINA World Aquatic Championships (2005), Festival international de jazz de �ѴDzԳٰ�é���� (2006), Les FrancoFolies de Montreal (2006), FIFA U20 World Cup (2007), and the Just for Laughs Festival (2009). He has also worked at the international level in Bénin (2000) and New-Caledonia (2008).

Yannick’s broad-ranging interests include the humanities and their relationship with sports, particularly soccer (football) and volleyball, as well as political science, history, sociology, economics and literature. In his leisure time, Yannick is an “Off FIFA” soccer volunteer (outside FIFA jurisdiction): This allows non-autonomous states, national minorities and cultural representations to stage international matches. As an avid cyclotourist, he travels as much as he can, and is particularly fond of unusual destinations, such as Vanuatu, Kurdistan and the Isle of Man.