Our Blog

Dear Dual Career Friends and Colleagues,

Christmas is a time for love, reflection on recent activities, inspiration and hope to renew our good will toward dual career. The sportspersons need dual career to contribute greatly to the society and our singular mission is to improve their opportunities to combine and progress their sports, education, and working life.

In the past months EAS continued the discussion of specific dual career issues through virtual cafes dedicated to the educational and employment perspectives, dual career as a means of European sports diplomacy, and the alignment of sports and working values. Furthermore, a large participation to the 20th EAS Conference in Gaeta, Italy, substantiated the growing interest in uncovering dual career aspects and stimulating a fruitful dialogue for the promotion of wellbeing of the sportspersons. Surely, proposals from our members for addressing new topics will be greatly appreciated.

In agreement with the aims of the Network, in 2023 EAS contributed to the finalization of three very successful ERASMUS+Sport Collaborative Partnerships dedicated to empower dual career athletes with entrepreneurship skills (ELCAMP), para-sports (Para-Limits), and the employee-sportspersons (BRAVA-DC), to the first phases of a Collaborative Partnerships dedicated to (Talent), and a Capacity Building (Sports as Value), and in the 2004 it will be involved in new ones (DC Mentor, DiscoverU, FIND ME, and Smart Start for DC). Furthermore, EAS also contributed to the publications of the book “A holistic approach to the dual career of the student-athlete”, a paper on the self-perception of dual career developed during the Para-Limits project published on a peer-review journal.

During this year, EAS consolidated fruitful partnerships with International Organizations in Sports through the participation in relevant events organized at European (e.g, Erasmus+ Infoday, 2023 European Sport Forum, Bureau of the “Consultative Committee of EPAS – Council of Europe”, Dual Career Day at the University of Naples, Italy)) and international (2023 Sport Forum, Soochow University, China) levels. Finally, a Memorandum of Understanding between EAS and the Italian Scientific Society of Movement and Sports (SISMES) was signed, and the President of EAS received a Medal of Appreciation from EUSA for her dedication to dual career.

During the Annual General Assembly held in Gaeta, Italy, the analysis of the responses to the EAS survey relative to the past and future actions of EAS was discussed to direct the Strategic Plan for the 2023-2026 quadrennium to be presented during the 2024 EAS Conference to be held in Katowice, Poland.

As we enter the New Year, we shall reaffirm our determination to support dual career sportspersons with great enthusiasm and passion. We are grateful to work with such a dedicated community and we are looking forward to remaining inspired by renewing the 2024 EAS membership through the link http://www.dualcareer.eu/membership/.

We extend our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a bright New Year to you and your beloved ones.

The EAS Board