NEWS

On June 13 and 14, 2022, the annual meeting of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) Governing Board and the meeting of the EPAS Consultative Committee were held in Strasbourg.  The event was organized at the Council of Europe headquarters and included the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of EPAS as a body of the Council of Europe (COE).

During the first morning, the meeting of 29 Members of the EPAS Consultative Committee (CC) was organized to be informed on the annual activities of the CC organized online (Webinar on Physical Education and School Sports, and a Breakfast Roundtable on Women in Sport) and in a hybrid format (e.g., Diversity Conference on the human rights of intersex and transgender athletes, and Combating Hate Speech in Sport), elect the new Bureau, and envisage the upcoming activities of the Members. The meeting was opened by Mr Kolë Gjeloshaj (Chair of the Consultative Committee), Ms Sophie Kwasny (Head of the Sport Division and EPAS Executive Secretary) and Ms Irena Guidikovathe (Head of Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes). After thanking the contribution of the past CC Bureau, of which EAS was a second-term Member, the Elections of the new Consultative Committee Bureau took place.  Mr. Kole Gjeloshaj (ISF) was re-elected as the Chair, Mr Mogens Kirkeby (ISCA) as Vice-Chair, and Ms. Charlotte Girard-Fabre (IFSO), Ms. Pauline Johanet (Peace and Sport), Mr. Janez Sodrznik (TAFISA), and Ms. Baiba Veisa (EFPM) as members, with Ms Emily Shaw (UEFA) as the Gender Equality Rapporteur. In congratulating the new CC Bureau the Members renewed their availability to provide advices for the decisions of the EPAS Governing Board and to contribute to the organization of EPAS events. The CC Members warmly thanked Mr. Michael Trinker for his precious support to the activities of the CC and wished him all the best for his future position.

Mr. Alexandre Husting (Luxembourg) chaired the joint meeting of EPAS Governing Board and Consultative Committee in the afternoon. Mirroring the EPAS Ethical, Inclusive and Safe Sport values, reports on the finalized projects were provided and future initiatives, statutory meetings, events, policy developments, and conventions were discussed. EAS President Laura Capranica presented the need to consider the dual career of Paralympic athletes as well as the challenges of sportspersons struggling to combine their sport and working careers.

In the evening, the Members participated in the special reception to celebrate the 15th anniversary of EPAS in the presence of Mr. Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe. A special mention highlighted the 14-year commitment of Mr. Stanislas Frossard as Head of the Secretariat of EPAS, recently elected as the Chair of the Council of Europe’s Staff Committee.

The last day was dedicated to the reports of the past and present projects and to the activities of the CC Members. President Laura Capranica invited the participants to attend the Seventh Virtual Cafè of EAS to be held next June 21 at 12:00 CET, disseminated the information on the 2022 EAS Conference to be held in Cartagena (Spain) next September 28-30, and updated on the COST Action DE-PASS for the joint efforts of researchers and policy makers to uncover the determinants of physical activity .

Finally, the EPAS Members agreed to meet next October 2022 at the next Conference of Ministers responsible for sport to be held in Antalya, Turkey, and on June 2023 at the Annual Meeting in Strasbourg, France.