EVENTS

On January 30, 2024, the EAS President Laura Capranica and Treasurer Mojca Doupona attended with more than 500 participants the Erasmus+ Sport InfoDay organized in Brussels, with others following the event in an streaming modality. Recordings of the main sessions are available at https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/news-events/events/info-session-erasmus-sport-2024-2024-01-30_en, whereas further information on the Erasmus+ Programme is available in the Guide provided in 24 languages at https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-programme-guide.

European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) Acting Director opened the event with Mrs. Iliana Ivanova (European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth) and Mr. Pierre-Yves Jeholet (representative of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council).

Two plenary sessions were scheduled in the morning, whereas in the afternoon three parallel session and a final plenary session were organized. In the first plenary session, Yves Le Lostecque (Head of Erasmus+ Mundus & Sport Unit, EACEA), Gael Broze (Head of Erasmus+ Sport Sector, EACEA) and Mr. Luciano Di Fonzo, (Deputy Head of Erasmus+ Mundus & Sport Unit, EACEA) introduced the ERASMUS+ Sport Programme, whereas Pawel Jesien (Polish Athletic Association) and Hebe Schaillee (Free University of Brussels) reported their experiences. In the second plenary session, Florencia Van Houdt, (Head of Sport Unit, DG EAC, European Commission), Milena de Murga, (Union of Sport Federations of Catalunya), Carlotta Giussani (European Olympic Committee EU Office), Vassos Koutsidoundas (Cyprus Sports Organisation) and Anna Merlini (Italian Canoe Kajak Federation) addressed the Erasmus+ Sport Policy priorities.

In the afternoon, the three parallel sessions focused on how to apply for Erasmus+ KA2 sport actions, on how to present project proposals, and on how to present a Capacity Building proposals. Among the EU funding opportunities in sports presented in the last plenary session, the Share 2.0 initiative was explained by Luciano Di Fonzo (Deputy Head of Erasmus+ Mundus & Sport Unit at EACEA) and Olivier Smith (Deputy Head of Unit Sport Policy at DG EAC of the European Commission); the Erasmus+ KA1 mobility of sport staff was illustrated by Violeta Birzniece (Sport Unit at DG EAC of the European Commission), and the Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions in the field of sport were  described by Izabela Pelczynska (Erasmus+ Sport Sector at EACEA presented Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions in the field of sport).

Iban Garcia del Blanco (Member of the European Parliament) and Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen (Director General of DG EAC of the European Commission) highlighted the increased budget allocated to sport-specific EU policies in practices, and the growing interest and variety of applications to the funding opportunities in sports.

A special recognition was attributed to Yves Le Lostecque (Head of Erasmus+ Mundus & Sport Unit at EACEA and former Head of Sport Unit at DG EAC of the European Commission), who announced his retirement after having greatly contributed to the development of key European sport initiatives.

The deadline for ERASMUS+Sport Collaborative Parnerships and Capacity Building project applications is March 5, 2024.