NEWS
On February 19, 2021, Dual Career and the ‘More than Gold’ project was presented at the scientific conference ‘Sport for the sustainability of society’ organized online by the University of Latvia (UL), during which more than 70 participants from Belgium, Croatia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, and Russia discussed research topics for social development in and through sports.
In aiming to contribute to the development of a Dual Career culture in Europe, the six partners of the European Collaborative Partnership ‘More than Gold’ (University of Latvia, Latvia; Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi, Romania; Universidad Catolica de Murcia, Spain; the University of Coimbra, Portugal; the University of Chieti-Pescara “G. d’Annunzio”, Italy; and EAS, Malta) are finalizing the development of Dual Career guidelines for higher education institutions (HEI) based on student-athletes’ needs, best practices, and opinion of HEI experts on a feasible implementation of financial, logistic, academic and social support of university athletes.
Second Virtual EAS Café on Dual Career Migrating Athletes
Originating from the findings of the EU Collaborative Partnership “Athletic migration: Dual Career and qualification in sports (AMiD)” project (590400-EPP-1-2017-1-AT-SPO-SCP), the second EAS Virtual Cafè event focused on dual career migrating athletes, attracting 48 European dual career experts.
Cristina Cortis, Associate Professor and Rector’s Delegate for Sport at the University of Cassino and Lazio Meridionale (Italy), illustrated the AMiD project on dual career migrating (https://www.termedia.pl/Student-athlete-migration-A-systematic-literature-review,129,42089,1,1.html), its published literature review (https://blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi/amid/description/) and expected publication of further information. She envisaged strong cooperation between sport bodies and educational stakeholders to develop a European dual career environment, which could facilitate the migration of student-athletes between the Member States.
Josefa Idem, the top-level kayak athlete with an outstanding achievement of 38 medals in Olympic Games (2 as a German and 6 as an Italian athlete), World and European Championships, described the challenges and opportunities of being a migrating top athlete who combined her long competitive career with political appointments and maternal role of two children. She considered the challenges as real opportunities, suggesting that youth athletes could profit from biographies of former athletes. As a psychologist and consultant of the Italian Soccer Federation, she also presented a cultural vision encompassing a lifelong education of all the actors in sports to support the holistic development of youth athletes as citizens.
Preben Astrup, the General Manager of the Danish Migration project “Get2sport”, illustrated the background, aims, activities, and benefits of a relevant and effective project for the integration of refugees in the sport clubs and schools all over Denmark. In presenting the fruitful cooperation with local refugee centres, municipalities, voluntary coaches, teachers and leaders, he highlighted the crucial role of parents in making “Get2sport” successful for the benefit of the youth athletes and the society at large. Indeed, the Get2sport project represents good practice for the integration of different culture and the advancement of local communities.
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n summarizing the outcomes of the café, Laura Capranica noted that the speakers moved from the holistic development of the athlete as a student to the holistic development of the society by means of education in and through sport. Thus, the participants were invited to attend the third EAS Virtual Cafè and the Annual Conference to be held in Lisbon, European Capital of Sport 2021.
Programme
12:00 Welcome
Cristina Cortis Associate Professor and Rector’s Delegate for Sport at the University of Cassino and Lazio Meridionale (Italy), partner of the EU-funded “Athletic migration: Dual Career and qualification in sports (AMiD)” project (590400-EPP-1-2017-1-AT-SPO-SCP).
12:15 The Challenges and opportunities of Dual Career for Migrating Athletes
Josefa Idem Migrating (from Germany to Italy) kayak athlete and champion in Olympic Games, World and European Championships (38 medals). Master’s degree in Occupational and Organisational Psychology, Former Italian politician, at present, is a consultant of the Italian Soccer Federation.
12:30 “Get2sport”
Preben Astrup General Manager of the Danish Migration project “Get2sport”. In cooperation with the local refugee centres, municipalities voluntary coaches, teachers and leaders, “Get2sport” fosters effective integration of refugees in the local sport clubs and schools.
13:00 General discussions
13:25 Concluding Remarks and announcement of next EAS online café
Successful Validation of the English and Italian EMPATIA Educational Platform/Website for Parents/Guardians of Elite Athletes as Students
Based on the evidence- (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7581327/) and eminence- (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0243354) knowledge gathered from Parents/Guardians of Elite Athletes as Students and European Dual Career experts, the EMPATIA platform/website presents in one place crucial information, hints & tips and important documents to empower Parents/Guardians of Dual Career athlete. The content is organized into 4 parts named: WHY, WHAT, HOW & WHERE and is available in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Slovenian.
At present, 33 Irish and 30 Italian Parents participated in online evaluation workshops and provided their positive feedbacks useful for its implementation. A Parent commented “If this website were available when I was an athlete, I probably wouldn’t have had to choose between continuing my studies and continuing my sport career!! I’m happy for my son!”
In the next weeks, the French, Portuguese, and Slovenian workshops will be organized to finalize the validation and implementation of the website.
On December 21, 2020 a virtual meeting of the EMPATIA Team was organized. The coordinator, Prof. Mojca Doupona informed that the project has been extended to the end of November 2021, which will allow to organize onsite workshops with parents of dual career athletes and the final conference of the project.
At present, the EMPATIA Educational Programme for parents has been developed on the evidence- and eminence-based knowledge, which has been published on relevant international peer-review journals. In particular, a systematic literature review on Parents about parenting dual career athletes is available at the Psychology of Sport and Exercise and the parents’ view for understanding the educational needs of parenting athletes involved in sport and education will be published on PlosOne. Furthermore, the manuscript on the European framework of parenting dual career athletes is currently under revision.
Dear Dual Career Friends and Colleagues,
Indeed, 2020 has been a challenging year affecting our life in many serious ways and obliging all of us to find adjustments to this unexpected crisis. Sport and education have been tremendously pressured, with closed schools and many sports events postponed to the next year. If every crisis brings also an opportunity, EAS decided to focus on the second part of the equation by continuing cooperating with European institutions and experts working in the field of Dual Career.
Whilst the COVID-19 stopped many activities, EAS discovered new ways to grow, connect, and engage its members in the development of a European Dual Career culture. Thanks to the Team of the University of Hamburg, the dual career community participated in the 17th Annual Conference in a virtual modality. Furthermore, since its re-election as a Member of the 2020-2022 Bureau of the Consultative Committee of EPAS – Council of Europe, EAS started cooperating with the International School Sport Federation-ISF (Chair), the European Olympic Committees-EOC (Vice-Chair), the European Network of Sport Education-ENSE, and The Association for International Sport for All-TAFISA.
Our Network participated in several applications to the ERASMUS+ Sport 2020 Call for Collaborative Partnerships on dual career. Three of them have been funded, specifically focusing on brand alignment strategies and corporate social responsibilities policies in Dual Career (BRAVA-DC); self-employment career option for innovative sport-focused entrepreneurship bootcamp (EL-CAMP); and on Dual Career of athletes with disabilities (PARA-LIMITS). Meantime, EAS contributed to the activities of the ongoing projects (AMID, DONA, EdMedia, EMPATIA, More than Gold, SOS, and STARTING 11), mainly through online meetings as a new way to connect. Despite EdMedia, EMPATIA, More than Gold, and SOS were expected to be finalized by December 31, 2020, due to the pandemic their final activities have been postponed to 2021.
As the European Dual Career knowledge-hub, EAS also contributed to the dissemination of knowledge through scientific publications in peer-review journals. Specifically, the activities of the Network have been published on the special issue on Dual Career of the Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte journal, whereas the outcomes of a systematic literature review and focus groups on parenting Dual Career athletes have been published in the Psychology of Sport and Exercise and PlosOne journals, respectively.
To provide further opportunities for continuing the discussion on Dual Career issues, the Network started the new adventure of virtual cafes with experts sharing their stories and visions. This novel experience dedicated to the EAS members was successfully held at the end of November. Surely, it will be consolidated in 2021 with a bimonthly cadence. I would like to invite you to reach out with any topic, thoughts, ideas, or news that help us promote Dual Career.
Whilst the COVID-19 continues to bring sickness and many of us are still isolated, we foresee a new recovered life in 2021 and look forward to meeting you in person next September during the 18th EAS Annual Conference to be organized in Lisbon during the Lisboa 2021-Capital of Sport by ICSTE-Istituto Universitario de Lisboa.
We take this opportunity to remind you to renew your 2021 EAS membership through the linkhttp://www.dualcareer.eu/membership/. We also encourage you to continue being proactive in the dissemination of EAS at local, national and international levels. Together, we will make the European Dual Career culture progress!
The Executive Board of EAS wishes you and your family a return to a life full of peace and happiness in 2021.
On November 30, 2020, EAS welcomed 101 participants of the first virtual EAS café on parenting dual career athletes, well moderated by Paolo Bouquet, President of the Unisport-Italia network.
Originating from the findings of the FISU-EAS survey during the 2017 Summer Universiade and of the EU-funded ERASMUS+Sport Collaborative Partnership Education Model for Parents of Athletes In Academics (EMPATIA, 2018-2020), and the experience of Unisport-Italia during the COVID-19 lockdown, the event addressed the relevant role of parents in support of their talented child.
Kole Gjeloshaj, Deputy Secretary General of the International School Sport Federation (ISF) and Chair of the Consultative Committee of EPAS-Council of Europe recognized the relevant role of parents in supporting the holistic development of youth athletes and during the ISF events. After having illustrated the main documents of the International Olympic Committee, the Council of Europe, and UNESCO that consider parents/family important actors of the athlete’s supportive entourage, he highlighted the need of a structured recognition and integration of parents in the actions and policies of sports organizations, as well as future studies on the parents’ perception, involvement and experience before and after a multi-sport event.
Mojca Doupona, General Director for Sport of the Ministry for education, science and sport in Slovenia, offered her personal experience as a former elite handball player, university professor, and mother of former student-athlete. After providing a thorough representation of the challenge parents face in supporting their talented child, she presented a video contribution of her daughter Tajda. The latter has been an elite swimmer and currently is a student of medicine. In presenting her personal experience, Tajda effectively summarized many relevant aspects of the parental support to the dual career of their child often acting as the link between the teachers and the coaches, envisaging a specific educational programme for helping parents in their difficult role.
Kairis Ulp, policy officer at the Sports Office of the European Commission, ensured that the European Union in its Work Plan for Sport 2021-2024 will continue considering education through and in sports relevant, as well as the contribution of the stakeholders in the development of the European sports culture. She also contributed to debate the issues that participants presented to the speakers.
Paolo Bouquet summarized the outcomes of the café and envisaged the organization of future “EAS café” to discuss specific aspects of dual career.
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