Association of International Sports Federations: http://www.agfisonline.com/

At the present time, GAISF represents the sole forum bringing together the whole of sports organizations once a year to exchange viewpoints on themes of common interest. Among the objectives laid down in its Statutes, GAISF is to:

• maintain the authority and the autonomy of its members;
• promote closer links between its members and all other sports organizations;
• co-ordinate and protect common interests;
• collect, verify and disseminate information.

Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences: http://www.cioms.ch

The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization established jointly by WHO and UNESCO in 1949.

Through its membership, CIOMS is representative of a substantial proportion of the biomedical scientific community. The membership of CIOMS in 2003 includes 48 international member organizations, representing many of the biomedical disciplines, and 18 national members mainly representing national academies of sciences and medical research councils.

The main objectives of CIOMS are:

• To facilitate and promote international activities in the field of biomedical sciences, especially when the participation of several international associations and national institutions is deemed necessary;
• To maintain collaborative relations with the United Nations and its specialized agencies, in particular with WHO and UNESCO;
• To serve the scientific interests of the international biomedical community in general.

To achieve its objectives, CIOMS has initiated and coordinates the following main long-term programmes:

• Bioethics: The particular contribution of CIOMS in this field has been the issuance of international guidelines for the application of ethical principles in various key areas. Specific reference should be made to the International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects (developed in conjunction with WHO), which superseded Proposed Ethical Guidelines (1982) and were published in 1993. They have been very widely utilized, particularly in low-resource countries and have now been revised and updated. The new text supersedes that of 1993 and consists of 21 guidelines. Specific reference should also be made to the "Principles of Medical Ethics Relevant to the Protection of Prisoners Against Torture", prepared by CIOMS at the invitation of WHO and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in March 1983.
• Health Policy, Ethics and Human Values - An International Dialogue. This major programme originated at an international conference organized by CIOMS in cooperation with WHO, held in Athens in 1984. This programme has brought together health policy-makers, ethicists and philosophers from many of the world's major cultural and religious groups, as well as "securalists". The topics covered have included equity, social justice, community participation, and the dignity of individuals in sickness and health in the context of health policy-making.
• Drug Development and Use. The program for the safety requirements for the use of drugs was initiated in the early 1980s in the light of the benefits that society as a whole derives from modern drugs and vaccines. There have been a number of working groups: the most valuable outcome of the working group of CIOMS I was the introduction of the "CIOMS I reporting form" for standardized international reporting of individual cases of serious, unexpected adverse drug reactions; the CIOMS II working group proposed a standard for periodic safety update reports, which has been adopted extensively since the publication of the report in 1992. It also served as a basis for the development of the official ICH guideline for such reports. The CIOMS III. (1999) Working Group Report developed proposals for international harmonization of the practical aspects of defining, creating and modifying the sections of data sheets or package inserts that contain safety information. CIOMS IV is to some extent an extension of CIOMS II and III. It examines the theoretical and practical aspects of how to determine whether a potentially major, new safety signal signifies a shift, calling for significant action, in the established relationship between benefits and risks; it also provides guidance for deciding what options for action should be considered and on the process of decision-making should such action be required. The CIOMS Working Group V commenced work in 1997 to revise and put together the most important elements that need to be taken into consideration in dealing with drug safety of post-marketed drugs.
• Reporting and Terminology of Adverse Drug Reactions. The end product of the project was the publication in 1999 of a cumulative volume entitled Definitions and Basic Requirements for the Use of Terms for Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions and a corresponding CD-ROM.
• Ethical Criteria for Drug Promotion. In 1992, the Forty-fifth World Health Assembly adopted a resolution requesting CIOMS to cooperate with WHO in convening a meeting of interested parties to discuss possible approaches to advancing the principles embodied in WHO's Ethical Criteria for Medicinal Drug Promotion. The report of the Consultation which was subsequently convened, including recommendations, were approved by WHO's Executive Board and by the Forty-seventh World Health Assembly in 1994 and a resolution endorsing the report of the Consultation and requesting implementation of its recommendations was adopted.
• International Nomenclature of Diseases. The principal objective of IND, a joint WHO/CIOMS project initiated in 1980, was to establish, for every morbid entity, a single internationally agreed recommended name. It was also designed to complement WHO's International Classification of Diseases. This project has drawn on the services of more than 500 experts in many countries. More than 5,000 names of diseases and their definitions have been agreed, and more than 20,000 synonymous terms listed and published jointly with WHO. This project, which was suspended in 1992 due to lack of resources, was designed to facilitate communication between health workers throughout the world by providing a truly international language of diseases and thus eliminating one of the barriers to communication.

European Council of International Schools: http://www.ecis.org/

The European Council of International Schools provides services to support professional development, curriculum and instruction, leadership and good governance in international schools located in Europe and around the world. ECIS says that its schools are committed to the promotion of an international outlook amongst all members of their communities, and that their staff and students are characterized by knowledge of, and respect for, the beliefs and values of their own and other cultures and by the willingness to acknowledge the existence and necessity of a range of perspectives.

Federation Internationale des Football Associations: http://www.fifa.com/en/index.html

Many sports have global status and organizations to match, but superstar status has to be accorded to football, which is the nearest thing there is to a global sport. FIFA has considerable legislative and judicial power which in many respects over-rules or has spawned national legislation.

FIFA was founded in 1904, although the stand-offish British did not join for some years. FIFA now has more than 200 national member associations.

Key FIFA regulations are those for the status and transfer of players, for players' agents, and for match agents. There is a Dispute Resolution Chamber. The FIFA disciplinary code encompasses doping, corruption, arbitration, racism, stadium bans and ineligibilty and provides for the Disciplinary Committee and an Appeal Committee.

The General Association of International Sports Federations: http://www.agfisonline.com/

GAISF says it is the only forum 'bringing together the whole of sports organizations once a year to exchange viewpoints on themes of common interest'.

Among the objectives laid down in its Statutes, GAISF is to:

• maintain the authority and the autonomy of its members;
• promote closer links between its members and all other sports organizations;
• co-ordinate and protect common interests;
• collect, verify and disseminate information.

GAISF's General Assembly met in Lausanne on 5 November 1988 to agree a text which 'specifies the means and the practical goals of GAISF's International Member Federations and expresses most of all the international sports movement's will to preserve sport's fundamental values, and most particularly its educational aspects, despite the strong pressures to which it is presently confronted'.

Global Health Council: http://www.globalhealth.org

The Global Health Council, formerly the National Council of International Health, is a U.S.-based, nonprofit membership organization that was created in 1972 to identify priority world health problems and to report on them to the U.S. public, legislators, international and domestic government agencies, academic institutions and the global health community.

Greenpeace: http://www.greenpeace.org/ international/

Greenpeace, founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1971, campaigns to stop atmospheric and underground nuclear testing as well as to bring an end to high seas whaling. Greenpeace has national and regional offices in 41 countries worldwide, all of which are affiliated to the Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International. The global organisation receives its income through the individual contributions of an estimated 2.8 million financial supporters, as well as from grants from charitable foundations, but does not accept funding from governments or corporations.

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): http://www.icann.org/general/

ICANN is an international non-profit corporation that has responsibility for Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain name system management, and root server system management functions. Within ICANN's structure, governments and international treaty organizations work in partnership with businesses, organizations, and skilled individuals involved in building and sustaining the global Internet. Innovation and continuing growth of the Internet bring forth new challenges for maintaining stability.

International Baccalaureat Organization: http://www.ibo.org/

The International Baccalaureat Organization currently works with 1,895 schools in 124 countries to develop and offer programmes to more than 487,000 students aged 3 to 19 years. Says its Director, Dr Seefried: 'What started as an education of the citizen in a local or state context has to now embrace not only an education for national citizenship but also a cosmopolitan sense of civic responsibilities. In a much enlarged global context, the teaching of ethics and ethical decision-making has to be grounded in the shared values of our common world heritage and traditions of learning.'

International Committee of the Red Cross: http://www.icrc.org

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. It directs and coordinates the international relief activities conducted by the Movement in situations of conflict. It also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.

International Medical Informatics Association: http://www.imia.org/about.html

The International Medical Informatics Association is an independent organization established under Swiss law in 1989. The organization was established in 1967 as Technical Committee 4 of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). In 1979, it evolved from a Special Interest Group of IFIP to its current status as a fully independent organization. IMIA continues to maintain its relationship with IFIP as an affiliate organization. The organization also has close ties with the World Health Organization (WHO) as an NGO (Non Government Organization).

IMIA plays a major global role in the application of information science and technology in the fields of healthcare and research in medical, health and bio informatics. The basic goals and objectives of the association are to:

• promote informatics in health care and research in health, bio and medical informatics;
• advance and nurture international cooperation;
• to stimulate research, development and routine application;
• move informatics from theory into practice in a full range of health delivery settings, from physician's office to acute and long term care;
• further the dissemination and exchange of knowledge, information and technology;
• promote education and responsible behaviour;
• represent the medical and health informatics field with the World Health Organization and other international professional and governmental organizations.

In the next few years IMIA says it will focus on "bridging the knowledge gap" by facilitating and providing support to developing nations. Specific goals include supporting the ongoing development of the African Region, and, on a broader basis, the development of the "Virtual University", an ongoing initiative of IMIA’s working Group 1, Health and Medical Informatics Education.

At the fall meeting of 2000, a task force was established by the General Assembly to develop an Ethical Code of Practice for adoption by IMIA. The resulting draft was reviewed by the General Assembly in the 2001 meeting, following detailed consultation with IMIA member countries. It is planned that a formal draft will be submitted for approval in the fall of 2002. This work is being conducted under the umbrella of IMIA WG4 on Data Protection in Health Information Systems.

International Olympic Committee: http://www.olympic.org/uk /index_uk.asp

The Olympic Movement includes the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs), the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Federations (IFs), the national associations, clubs and, of course, the athletes.

The Movement lists its activities as:

• Promoting sport and competitions through the intermediary of national and international sports institutions world-wide;
• Cooperation with public and private organisations to place sport at the service of mankind;
• Assistance to develop "Sport for All";
• Advancement of women in sport at all levels and in all structures, with a view to achieving equality between men and women;
• Opposition to all forms of commercial exploitation of sport and athletes;
• The fight against doping;
• Promoting sports ethics and fair play;
• Raising awareness of environmental problems;
• Financial and educational support for developing countries through the IOC institution Olympic Solidarity.

This account will focus on the rule-making and juridical functions of the IOC.

The IOC Juridical Commission was created in 1974. Its terms of reference include carrying out studies of a legal nature on issues which may affect the interests of the IOC.

In 1999, the International Olympic Committee's (IOC's) Executive Board created an independent Ethics Commission comprising eight members. The Ethics Commission has three roles:

• It draws up and constantly updates a framework of ethical principles, including especially a Code of Ethics based on the values and principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter. These principles must be respected by the IOC and its members, by the cities wishing to organise the Olympic Games, by the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs), by the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) as well as by the "participants" in the Olympic Games;
• it plays a monitoring role; as such, it ensures that ethical principles are respected; it conducts investigations into breaches of ethics submitted to it, and, when needed, makes recommendations to the Executive Board;
• it has a mission of prevention and advising the Olympic parties on the application of the ethical principles and rules.

The IOC says that Olympic marketing should help perpetuate the work of the Olympic Movement, by providing resources, programmes and financial support. All programmes and actions of a partner should be designed to enhance and protect the Olympic image and Olympic values. As has been very apparent in recent games, and especially with reference to the Chinese 2008 and the UK 2012 games, the IOC has developed a highly prescriptive framework for Olympic marketing, which it requires national host governments to incorporate into national law. Nothing could more clearly demonstrate the impact of globalised (shall we call it oligarchic?) sport on national prerogatives.

As with marketing, so with the environment. The IOC has acknowledged its particular responsibility in terms of promoting sustainable development, and regards the environment as the third dimension of Olympism, alongside sport and culture. This led to its decision in 1995 to create a Sport and Environment Commission. Its role is to advise the IOC Executive Board on what policy the IOC and Olympic Movement should adopt in terms of environmental protection and support for sustainable development and, through its members, supports the IOC programmes and activities in this field.

The IOC Sport and Law Commission was created in 1996 to provide a forum for discussion of current legal issues generally affecting the different organisations which make up the Olympic Movement, including the IOC, the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees.

Perhaps though the most noticeable feature of the IOC's world judicial role is the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which ' promotes and coordinates the worldwide fight against doping in all its forms'.

WADA 'combines the resources of sport and government to enhance, supplement and coordinate existing efforts to educate athletes about the harms of doping, reinforce the ideal of fair play and sanction those who cheat themselves and their sport'.

WADA's key activities include:

• Conducting unannounced out-of-competition doping control among elite athletes;
• Monitoring acceptance of and compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code;
• Funding scientific research to develop new detection methods;
• Observing the doping control and results management programs of major events;
• Educating athletes through the Athlete Outreach Program;
• Providing anti-doping education to athletes, coaches and administrators;
• Fostering the development of National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADO);

A major initiative of the new organization has been the development of the World Anti-Doping Code (“Code”), finalized in 2003. The World Anti-Doping Code is the first document to harmonize regulations regarding anti-doping across all sports and all countries of the world. A single Code that is applicable and acceptable for all stakeholders in the world anti-doping effort will help achieve this objective. The World Code is a core document that will provide a framework for anti-doping policies, rules and regulations within sport organisations and among public authorities.

All major sports federations and nearly 80 governments gave their approval March 5th 2003 at the World Conference on Doping in Sport held in Copenhagen, Denmark, to the World Anti-Doping Code by backing a Resolution that accepts the Code as the basis for the fight against doping in sport. As of the end of July 2004, 134 countries (governments) had accepted the March 2004 World Conference on Doping in Sport. Further, 202 of 202 National Olympic Committees and 149 of 160 National Paralympic Committees have adopted the Code.

International Schools Association: http://www.isaschools.org/artman/publish/index.shtml

The International Schools Association has a general brief to support the development of international schools and was instrumental in the development of the International Baccalaureate Organization (see above). It is linked to UNESCO.

International Schools Services: http://www.iss.edu/

International Schools Services, founded in 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey, is dedicated to educational excellence for children attending international schools worldwide. ISS plans and manages schools throughout the world for companies, individuals, and consortiums and currently works with more than 300 international schools.

International Studies Schools Network: http://internationalstudies schools.org/about.htm

The Asia Society's International Studies Schools Network (ISSN), a US organization, says: 'Urban secondary school students deserve an opportunity to be successful within an increasingly global environment. By introducing the study of world regions, languages, and international affairs into the national high school reform agenda, Asia Society aims to modernize instruction and be a catalyst for “bringing the world” into the classroom. Findings from surveys conducted in 2002 by Asia Society and The National Geographic Society show that most American students lack even rudimentary knowledge about international affairs. This “international knowledge gap” comes at a time when globalization is driving demand for an internationally competent workforce. Currently, one in five jobs is tied to international commerce. Trade with Asia alone now equals over $800 billion per year. The knowledge deficit is especially worrisome for disadvantaged youth who more often attend schools where access to information about world regions, cultures, and scientific or technological innovations that drive job opportunities is weak or non-existent.'

'Asia Society’s International Studies Schools Network (ISSN) is being developed by a team of international studies scholars; world language experts and practitioners; and experts in youth development, literacy, math, and science, in conjunction with local school district and charter school leaders. As members of the Network, schools share best practices and lessons learned and participate in intensive and authentic professional development experiences. Together, we envision a new approach to secondary school education that will improve young people’s success in the global age.'

ISSN's aims are that a student should be intellectually curious, have a desire for life-long learning, think critically, and effectively organize his or her own efforts to learn. A student should:

• Demonstrate a capacity for mathematical analysis, scientific processing, and logical reasoning;
• Hold themselves accountable for moral reasoning and ethical decision-making;
• Transfer their learning and problem-solving skills across domains and articulate the interconnectedness of their learning;
• Understand and use the arts as lenses through which to view society and culture, as well as to express ideas and emotions;
• Understand and engage complex problems; collect, analyze and synthesize information from a range of sources; tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty; and produce potentially viable solutions.

And so on - there's lots more!

Primary funding for the ISSN schools comes from local school districts and federal and state education resources. In addition, in 2003, Asia Society received a five-year grant of $7.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the International Studies Schools Network and, in 2006, received a grant from the Communities Foundation of Texas to support the creation of two additional schools in Texas.

Medecins Sans Frontieres: http://www.msf.org

t is part of MSF's work to address any violations of basic human rights encountered by field teams, violations perpetrated or sustained by political actors. It does so by confronting the responsible actors themselves, by putting pressure on them through mobilisation of the international community and by issuing information publicly. In order to prevent compromise or manipulation of MSF's relief activities, MSF maintains neutrality and independence from individual governments.

Society of Manufacturing Engineers: http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/ getsmepg.pl?/new-sme.html&&&SME&

Founded in 1932 with 33 members, the SME was originally named the Society of Tool Engineers. A year later, it was renamed the American Society of Tool Engineers. It finally became the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1969.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation: http://portal.unesco.org/

UNESCO has 191 members and was founded in November 1945. The high-flown sentiments of this agency have not been matched by its achievements, indeed it has been a byword for maladministration, bureacracy, and woolly do-gooding.

It gives its goal as 'the building of peace in the minds of men'. Yes, of course! But it is this kind of pinko wishful thinking that has undermined the real work the agency has attempted, sometimes with a degree of success.

More realistically, UNESCO says that it functions: 'as a laboratory of ideas and a standard-setter to forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues'.

World Anti-Doping Agency: www.wada-ama.org

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) promotes and coordinates the worldwide fight against doping in all its forms. Created by the IOC as part of the post-1999 re-structuring efforts, WADA is headquartered in Montreal and chaired by Canadian Dick Pound. It combines the resources of sport and government to enhance, supplement and coordinate existing efforts to educate athletes about the harms of doping, reinforce the ideal of fair play and sanction those who cheat themselves and their sport.

A major initiative of the new organization has been the development of the World Anti-Doping Code (“Code”), finalized in 2003.

World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en/

The World Health Organization is the United Nations specialized agency for health. It was established on 7 April 1948. WHO's objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined in WHO's Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. WHO is governed by 193 Member States through the World Health Assembly. The Health Assembly is composed of representatives from WHO's Member States. As with other United Nations agencies, the WHO has been bedevilled by misadministration and its activities have been caught in sectarian cross-fire.

From the perspective of developing global standards and practices, the WHO's Ethics, Trade, Human Rights and Health Law (ETH) unit is relevant.

The work carried out by ETH, which involves technical units across WHO/HQ as well as regional and country offices, ranges from activities that date to WHO's founding to responses to the most contemporary challenges facing Member States. It aims to promote human dignity, justice and security in health, and to ensure that the emerging global architecture for health governance is developed in line with ethical and human rights principles. ETH is composed of four teams:

• The Ethics team works on diverse topics ranging from the ethics of health research and development to equitable access to care for HIV, and from human organ and tissue transplantation to the ethics of public health responses to epidemics.
• The Globalization, trade and health team works to ensure that trade and globalization contribute to improved health. It builds the knowledge-base and strengthens capacities to respond coherently to the public health aspects of trade. It also explores new institutional mechanisms for responding to the emerging challenges of global health and the need to develop global public goods for health.
• The Health and Human Rights team serves as the Organization's focal point in integrating a human rights-based approach to health development; the team also aims to make WHO's founding objective - the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health - an essential element on the international human rights agenda.
• The Health Law team responds to the constitutional mandate to gather and disseminate health legislation from Member States; it also assists countries with specific needs for technical assistance and model legislation.