Lithuania hosted the 4th European Sport Platform and CHAMP project conference
The three-day event was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 21-23 October 2021, hosted by Lithuanian Sports University and Lithuanian Union of Sports Federations, and organised in partnership with the European Lotteries (EL), European Association for Sport Management (EASM), and within the framework of the Erasmus+ Co-funded CHAMP project.
The fourth edition of the European Sport Platform and the CHAMP project conference gathered ENGSO members, partners and friends from all over Europe.
Sport innovation and modernization of sport clubs were the main topics of day one.
The conference began with ENGSO president Stefan Bergh and ENGSO Secretary General Sara Massini welcoming the participants and introducing the highlight topics of day one: sport innovation and modernization of sport clubs.
CHAMP project conference was hosted and moderated by Lovisa Broms, CHAMP project manager, who introduced the project and its main outcomes, including the free online course “How to manage a modern sport club”: www.engso-education.eu/champ.
The conference included presentations from CHAMP project partners, Teodora Pletosu, KEA European Affairs, and Hisham Shehabi, N3XT Sports. The main objective of the event was to introduce the online course and share insights into new findings in the field of sport innovation, digitalization and modernization of the sport movement.
Watch the replay of the conference: https://youtu.be/L-tyuo6mvjg
Day two of the European Sport Platform 2021 highlighted the latest EU sport policy updates, the importance of research for grassroots sport, the ongoing inequalities in sport, and the need for athletes to have a dual career.
Friday began with welcome speeches from Stefan Bergh, ENGSO President, Diana Reklaitiene, Rector of the Lithuanian Sport University and Darius Saluga, President of the Lithuanian Union of Sport Federations.
Tomasz Frankowski, Member of the European Parliament and Florencia Van Houdt, Head of the Unit for Sport of the European Commission shared the updates about policy measures within the EU regarding sports, and the work of sport group of the EU Parliament.
Understanding the importance of research was the highlight of day two; Vassil Girginov, PhD, Reader in Sport Management/Development and President European Association for Sport Management (EASM), and Rimantas Mikalauskas, Associate Professor from the Lithuanian Sports University, led the first afternoon session, entitled “Evidence for impact – how grassroots sports can use research more effectively?”
Day two was concluded with two parallel workshops; Equality in Sport – Change that Inspires Change, moderated by Sallie Barker, chair of ENGSO EWS, and Dual Career: from policy to practice, led by Agne Vanagiene, Lithuania Olympic Committee.
“Equality in Sport – Change that Inspires Change” session shed the light on the (ongoing) inequalities, with presentations from Rachel Froggatt, Secretary General, International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport, Emine Bozkurt, Chair of the High Level Group on Gender Equality, European Commission, and Francine Hetherington-Raveney, Deputy Executive Secretary for the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS).
“Dual Career: from policy to practice” workshop showcased the need for athletes to complete the education process and build future work opportunities. The guest speakers of session were Laura Capranica President of EAS, European Athlete as Student (keynote speakers), Inga Staskeviciute Butiene, Associate Professor of Lithuanian Sports University, Wolfgang Stockinger, Founder & CEO of TW1N (dual career consultancy for athletes, institutions and EU projects), and Brigita Virbalyte, athlete, sport journalist, representative of National Athletes Association.
European Sport Platform concluded with former ENGSO Youth commitee members and young delegates addressing the topic of sustainability, and Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Erasmus Mundus & Sport Unit – EACEA, sharing the latest developments about current and future Erasmus+ programme funding.
The first session, entitled Sustainability in and through Sport – Air Quality (air quality issues that impact global sport), Dr Paolo Emilio Adami, Medical Manager at World Athletics and former ENGSO Youth chair, who discussed the importance of air quality for athletes’ health, and Niki Koutrou, Senior Lecturer (Academic) Sport Management at Bournemouth University and Play Green project manager, and Ivana Pranjic, former ENGSO Youth committee member and Sport4SD project manager, who presented the initiatives and the outcomes of both Erasmus+ projects (Play Green and Sport for Sustainable Development).
European Sport Platform 2021 was concluded with a presentation from Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Erasmus Mundus & Sport Unit – EACEA, who shared important information and updates about the next sport funding, available also to grassroots sport organisations.
The Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation will be the host of the fifth edition of European Sport Platform 2022. We are looking forward to welcoming you in the Sportcentrum Papendal, Netherlands, in October 2022.
We are particularly grateful to the hosts of the European Sport Platform 2021, Lithuanian Sports University and Lithuanian Union of Sports Federations, our partners European Lotteries (EL) and European Association for Sport Management (EASM), and ENGSO members and friends who joined the event.
