The 2025 UIAA Congress will be held in Peja, Kosovo from October 24 to 26, hosted by the Kosovo Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation. Kosovo becomes the 35th country to host the UIAA conference. Attached to the conference plan is the second version UIAA Mountain Sports Seminar.
More than 90 representatives from 54 member associations attended the conference. As per tradition, the Congress program includes a climate change summit and panel discussions dedicated to the strategic priorities of the UIAA, the role of innovation and ethics and the development of climbing and mountaineering in emerging federations. More details on these discussions will be released soon.
During the conference, two major awards were presented for the 2025 UIAA Mountain Conservation Awards, presented in partnership with Lenovo and Altezza Travel. Flagship Environmental Shelter UIAA member association FFCAM (Federation of French Alpine Clubs) was confirmed as the overall champion Walking Tratera Awarded Best New Initiative by the Mountain Clubs of South Africa (MCSA), an active/full member of the UIAA. The official award ceremony of the Mountain Conservation Awards 2025-26 will be held on October 23 and 24, 2026 at the Alpine Museum in Bern, Switzerland, with a joint award ceremony mount albert award.
In addition to the Congress, there were also autumn UIAA Governing Council meetings as well as meetings of the Mountaineering, Safety and Medical Committee and the World Ice Climbing Council. The Mountain Sports Symposium is a two-day course focusing on topics related to mountain medicine, safety and training, with a special focus on the Balkans, and attracted more than 60 attendees. A full review of this incident will be published in due course.
vote
Here is a summary of key voting decisions from the 2025 UIAA Convention:
Chairman's report
Peter Muir’s President’s Report, which focuses on UIAA’s progress, specifically its seven strategic priorities through 2025, has been approved and can be viewed here.
financial
The financial results for 2024 and the budget for 2026 were approved, as well as new membership fee proposals, one of the main elements being a 6% increase in fees for associate and full/active members.
Articles of Association (AoAs)
The following changes have been approved:
Article 11.3: Voting Rights Chart
Article 14.2: No concurrent appointment as Chairman of the Committee/Management Board is allowed
Article 26.3: Term Limits for Committee Chairs
Article 26.6: One vote per country on the Committee
Article 26.8: CP/MB No Dual Role*Explanation of 30 Day Period
Attachment 1: 3.e, 3.f: Membership fee update
Attachment 2:c: After Honorable Mention Deadline
The updated AoA documentation will be posted on the UIAA website soon.
election
management committee
While there are no Executive Board elections in 2025, the Management Board held the following elections:
The five largest member federations are represented:
Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) Claudio Nicati elected
Claudio Nicardi takes over The term of Juan Jesus Ibáñez Martín (FEDME) has ended. The UIAA would like to thank Juan for his tremendous dedication not only to the Governing Council but also in his role as Chairman of the Access Committee.
Mainland Representative (CR):
Moroccan Royal Ski and Mountain Sports Federation Bouchra Baibanou elected African CR
The UIAA would like to thank outgoing MB Africa Representative Paul Carstensen for his commitment and dedication to this position during his four-year term.
Allan Brent of the New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC) was elected CR for Oceania.
Allan Brent succeeds Stuart Gray (New Zealand AC), whose longest tenure at the club has come to an end. The UIAA thanks Stewart for his long service to the Governing Council and his commitment to many working groups, including those dedicated to climate change and sustainable development.
Willy Montenegro (FEACH) of Chile was re-elected as CR of Central and South America
UIAA Court
In the UIAA Court elections, Pierre Humblet (CMBEL, Belgium) was re-elected as President, subsequent members Marco del Zotto (CAI, Italy) and Frank StämfplI (SAC, Switzerland) were re-elected, and former UIAA EC member Francoise Jaquet (SAC, Switzerland) was elected.
Membership
One membership change proposal and seven applications for new members were presented at the conference.
Membership changes
Denmark: According to an agreement between the two Danish federation members of the UIAA, their roles have been reversed. Dansk Bjerg – Og Klatreklub is now an associate member and the Danish Climbing Federation is an active/full member.
New active/full member
The following federations have been elected as active/full members of the UIAA:
Armenia: Armenian Mountaineering and Hiking Federation (AMHF)
Estonia: Eesti Matkaliit (EM)
Syria: Syrian Mountain Activities Association (SAMA)
New Associate Member
The following federations have been elected as associate members of UIAA:
Iraqi Kurdistan: Kurdistan Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (KMCF)
United States: American Ice Climbing
new observer members
The following associations were elected as UIAA observer members:
Germany: Albrecht von Derwitz Foundation
The UIAA currently has 100 member associations from 77 countries on six continents, pending a judgment against four members who must pay outstanding fees by the end of the year. There are currently 73 formal members, 1 unit member, 19 associate members, and 7 observers. Exact membership numbers for 2026 will be determined by the end of the year.
Organization member
The International Racing Federation (ISF) has provided the latest information on events and major events scheduled for 2025.
As of the General Assembly, the ISF representative on the Management Committee is Pavlos Georgiades (Cyprus, CMCF). He succeeds Silvio Calvi (Italy), who has been an advisor to the ISF since its creation in 2008 and Vice-President of the ISF since 2015, and played an important role in the ISF becoming a unit member of the UIAA and in the successful cooperation between the two federations since then. The UIAA thanks Silvio for its support over the years.
commission
Subject to approval by the Governing Council, the UIAA may also confirm the appointment of the following two new committee chairs:
Training: Ron Funderburke (AAC, USA)
Youth: Michael Nagal (DAV, Germany)
The committee list will be updated on the UIAA website in due course.
Future UIAA conferences
Next year's conference will be held in Nepal from October 30 to 31. The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) will serve as the host. The 2027 UIAA Congress will visit Santiago, Chile, hosted by FEACH. Date to be confirmed.
Thanks
UIAA would like to thank all delegates for attending this very productive and enjoyable conference. Many thanks to the hosts, the Kosovo Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation, led by President Arianit Nikci, for the excellent organization of the event, the hospitality and the smooth running of the congress and mountain sports seminar. The UIAA would also like to thank honorary members Jordi Pons Sanjines and Frits Vrijlandt for attending.
UIAA also expresses its gratitude to all sponsors/partners who have made significant contributions to several initiatives and events held within UIAA. This includes mammoth For the merchandise on offer; Namah Ropes for the provision of rope bags and discount cards for all delegates; Lenovo and Altezza Travel for their support of the Mountain Conservation Awards; The Petzl Foundation in partnership with the Mountain Sports Symposium and Fixe Climbing for their strong support of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour and the UIAA Safety Project.
More information
Photo Gallery– UIAA Convention
Photo Gallery– UIAA Mountain Sports Seminar
UIAA Annual Report
