A key component of the UIAA Executive Board and Management Committee’s work is implementing the Strategic Plan. At the 2024 General Assembly, agreement was reached on the new UIAA Strategic Priorities for the period 2025-2028. These can be downloaded from the link below. The priority is now the creation of implementation plans for each of the defined seven priorities.
PRIORITY #1
Wider Global Representation
The UIAA will strive to better serve its member federations in all parts of the world by providing leadership in matters of global concern and by building its relevance to the wider climbing and mountaineering community. By clearly defining and more actively promoting the benefits of membership based on the needs of individual federations, the UIAA will aim to grow beyond 100 member federations by its 100th anniversary in 2032.
PRIORITY #2
Rock Climbing &
Hiking
Recognising that rock climbers and hikers constitute a significant segment of the membership base, the UIAA will devote more resources towards addressing matters important to rock climbers and identifying opportunities for growth in relation to hiking, thereby supporting the needs and expectations of its member federations while increasing its relevance to potential new members.
PRIORITY #3
Ice Climbing
The UIAA is fully committed to developing ice-climbing as a sustainable, global sport.
PRIORITY #4
Safety Centre
of Excellence
The UIAA will focus its long-standing and globally recognised work on continual improvement of climbing safety and standards through a Safety Centre of Excellence, encompassing equipment standards and certification, medical and safety advice, accident reporting and analyses, legal analyses, educational content and content reviews and communication.
PRIORITY #5
Training &
Development
Building on its widely recognised training standards and certificates and the pool of knowledge and experience among its larger member federations, the UIAA will aim to promote more widely its standard programmes and supporting the efforts of member federations to develop their training structures according to their needs.
PRIORITY #6
Climate change &
sustainability
With our commitment to the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action framework and recognising the serious global challenge of climate change and degradation of the natural environment, the UIAA will lean on the best available research, data and practices to relate how climate change affects our activities in the mountains and the mountain communities, how to adapt, and how to act responsibly. The UIAA will work by itself and with our member federations to minimalise the impact of our activities on the climate and natural environment. To support these actions, we will provide realistic climate change and sustainability guidance adapted to the nature, needs and size of our member federations.
PRIORITY #7
Financial
Development
The UIAA will develop its financial resources and its financial stability by renewing existing partnerships, by developing new ones, and by encouraging specific Commissions to develop and expand their income generating services.
Overview of
Strategic Priorities
2025-2028
Over the decades, the landscape of climbing has transformed substantially. Initially centred around traditional alpine expeditions and mountaineering, the sport has diversified to include a broad spectrum of activities such as sport climbing, hiking, ice climbing, and indoor climbing.
This evolution reflects broader societal changes, technological advancements, and shifting environmental conditions that demand a responsive and proactive approach from the UIAA.
The UIAA strategy 2025-2028 will position the UIAA to remain an active and respected voice of climbers and mountaineers all over the world, serving the best interests of our member federations and our worldwide community.
The strategy is designed to align the organisation’s goals and services with those of its current members while also enhancing its appeal to new members, particularly from underrepresented countries and continents.
- The UIAA will continue to lead and represent the climbing and mountaineering community by promoting responsible climbing, setting and maintaining high standards, and supporting our member federations.
- To strengthen its position as the global representative of the climbing and mountain sports, the organisation must also seek growth and development for itself.
- The UIAA must increase our resources and build financial solidity to be able to demonstrate tangible benefits to our member federations.
- The UIAA must maintain focus, progress and relevance of our projects and services, and ensure that our activities are prioritised according to their value and aligned with the strategy.
- The UIAA should build its relevance and solidity by improving and expanding services in the fields where it already has a strong reputation and widely appreciated services and products.
The priorities presented above are not in any order of importance.
DOWNLOAD
