Role
Former athlete, canoe champion, and multiple Olympic medalist; Coordinator of the SGS Academy and Head of Internal Training for the FIGC's Youth and School Sector. Lecturer at the Technical Sector of Coverciano and a work and sports psychologist; Former Minister for Equal Opportunities, Sport, and Youth Policies.
Bio
Josefa Idem has a long career as an Olympic canoeist. From 1984 to 2012, she participated in eight Olympic Games, winning one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes. She is a five-time world champion and nine-time European champion. After her competitive career, she graduated in Work and Organizational Psychology and earned a master's degree in Sports Psychology. In 2022, she registered with the Emilia-Romagna Region's Register of Psychologists and obtained a Higher Education Certificate as an Expert Consultant in Professional Orientation and Career Guidance. She has been active in corporate training since 2008, has collaborated with the youth and school sectors since 2018, and has been a teacher at the Coverciano Technical Department of the Italian Football Federation since 2022.
Her professional career also includes a political stint: as a candidate in the 2013 elections, she was elected to the Senate and from April 28 to June 24 she was Minister for Equal Opportunities, Sport and Youth Policies in the government led by Enrico Letta.
He has published two autobiographies: Controcorrente (Sperling & Kupfer 2006) and Partiamo dalla fine (Mondadori 2013). He received the honor of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2000 and Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2008, for sporting merit.