EVENTS

On October 21-23, 202, ENGSO organized the European Sport Platform in Vilnius, Lithuania. The first day of the event was dedicated to the results of the EU-funded project CHAMP, which was dedicated to the innovation and modernization of sport clubs and sports movements.

The morning of the second day was dedicated to EU policies for sport, with particular focus on building inclusive process, including presentations by Stefan Bergh, ENGSO President, Diana Reklaitiene, Lithuanian Sport University Rector, Darius Saluga, Lithuanian Union of Sport Federations President, and Florencia Van Houdt, Head of the Unit for Sport at the European Commission.

The afternoon was dedicated to workshops focused on Evidence for impact – how grassroots sports can use research more efficiently? – Equality in Sport – Change that Inspires Change – and Dual Career: from policy to practice.

Moderated by Agne Vanagiene, Lithuanian National Olympic Committee, the keynote speaker of the dual career workshop, Laura Capranica – EAS President, reported the recent progress of the European discourse on dual career and the outcomes of the recently finalized EU-funded projects: “AMID – Athletic Migration in Dual Career”, coordinated by the University of Salzburg, Austria (https://blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi/amid/) and “Ed Media – Media as a channel of Athletes’ Dual Careers promotion and education”, coordinated by the Lietuvos Sporto Universitetas of Kaunas, Lithuania (https://www.lsu.lt/en/project-edmedia/); the EU-funded approaching the finish line: “EMPATIA – Education Model for Parents of AThlete in Academics”, coordinated by the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia (https://www.empatiasport.eu); “More than Gold”, coordinated by the University of Latvia (https://morethangold.eu); “DONA – Dual Career for wOmeN Athlete”, coordinated by the Associació Esportiva Carles Vallbona, Spain; “SOS – Sport Opens Schools”, coordinated by the Centro Universitario Sportivo di Padova, Italy (https://www.sportopensschool.eu); “STARTING11”, coordinated by Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands (https://starting11.eu); and the ongoing projects: “Para-Limits”, coordinated by the Universitad Catolica de Murcia – UCAM, Spain (https://paralimits.eu); “ELCAMP A Self-employment Career Option for Elite Athletes: Innovative Sport-focused Entrepreneurship Bootcamp”, coordinated by  Collective Innovation AS (COLLINN), Norway; and BRAVA-DC – BRAnd Value Alignment through Dual Career, coordinated by the University of Limerick, Ireland. In particular, the already available dual career educational platforms of EdMedia (https://www.lsu.lt/en/project-edmedia/edmedia-online-platform/); and EMPATIA (https://edu.empatiasport.eu/eng/) were presented, as well the new frontiers of a dual career extended to sportspersons (e.g., coaches, referees, and sports managers) and the development of dual career monitoring.

Inga Staskeviciute Butiene, Associate Professor at the Lithuanian Sports University, presented the Lithuanian dual career observatory and the follow-up findings of the EdMedia project, including the evolution of a dual career in Lithuania. Wolfgang Stockinger, TW1N CEO (Austria), illustrated the activities of the programme RESPECT YOUR TALENT, which promotes the holistic development of talented players’ careers on and off the handball court. Finally, the Olympic athlete specialized in walking and sports journalist Brigita Virbalytė-Dimšienė offered her experience regarding the difficulties and barriers dual career employee-athletes encounter in balancing their working and sports commitments.

The last day of the event encompassed the workshop “Sustainability in and through Sport – Air Quality (air quality issues that impact global sport”, including presentations by Paolo Emilio Adami – Medical Manager – Health and Science Department at World Athletic,  Niki Koutrou, Bournemouth University, UK, and EU funded PlayGreen project, and Ivana Pranjic, ENGSO. Finally, Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Erasmus Mundus & Sport Unit – EACEA presented “Capacity building: Next funding program for sport”

Stefan Bergh, ENGSO President, and Sara Massini, ENGSO Secretary General closed the event and announced that the next European Sport Forum will be in the Netherlands.