Five new members, updated statues, new opportunities and best year yet for ENGSO Youth: 32nd ENGSO General Assembly and 21st Youth Assembly

Vienna, 14-16 June 2024 – ENGSO Youth joined ENGSO for the 32nd ENGSO General Assembly which was hosted by ENGSO member Sport Austria, and took place on 14-16 June 2024 in Vienna, Austria. On the same occasion, 21st ENGSO Youth Assembly, EU seminar and ENGSO seminars on Equality and Sport were held.

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ENGSO Youth’s key moment  was the Youth Assembly which followed the ENGSO General Assembly on Saturday, 15 June 2024, and highlighted the main achievements of the Committee in 2023. 


ENGSO Youth Chair Ugnė Chmeliauskaitė kicked off the Youth Assembly by presenting the overall impact the organisation had on the European youth and sport sectors, and highlighted the key results related to organisational development, achieved since the election of a new Committee in May 2023.

After the introduction of key achievements, ENGSO Youth Vice Chair Erik van Haaren, Committee members Valentin Doupona, Alessia De Iulis  and Marija Leskovec and staff members Tiago Guilherme, Policy Manager, and Polona Fonda, Communication Manager, took the stage to present the activities, events and projects currently being implemented by each ENGSO Youth working groups. 

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After the introduction of key achievements, ENGSO Youth Vice Chair Erik van Haaren, Committee members Valentin Doupona, Alessia De Iulis  and Marija Leskovec and staff members Tiago Guilherme, Policy Manager, and Polona Fonda, Communication Manager, took the stage to present the activities, events and projects currently being implemented by each ENGSO Youth working groups. 

“When you reach a golden year, the only way forward is to make it shine. No better means  to do that than broadening ENGSO membership and collaboration for Youth empowerment within the membership”, shared ENGSO Youth Chair Ugnė Chmeliauskaitė during ENGSO’s General Assembly and her speech for ENGSO members.

Tiago Youth Participation Ga 2024

Earlier in the day, and during the session entitled “Sport in the trending world – are we able to keep youth voices involved?”, ENGSO Youth’s Policy Manager Tiago Guilherme challenged the participants with an important question: “are we managing to reach the ones in need and assure that youth voices are diversified from various groups, especially from more vulnerable backgrounds?”. He explained to representatives of the ENGSO member organisations why building mechanisms for youth participation in sport organisations is important and how sport organisations can improve and increase the inclusion of youth in the decision making process.

It is important to note that the moment to #BeActive was ensured by ENGSO Youth Committee member Valentin Doupona, as he and his band invited everyone to dance to a traditional Austrian folk music during the farewell dinner for ENGSO members.

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Other key highlights of the 32nd ENGSO General Assembly and Youth Assembly included:

 

ENGSO welcomed five new member organisations, increasing its membership to 38 National Sport Federations, National Olympic Committees and European Sport Organisations. New members joining are: Sports Committee of Ukraine, Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee, Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegrin Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committee of North Macedonia.

 

The General Assembly also approved updates to the ENGSO statues, making ENGSO more inclusive and open to new memberships and opportunities. 

 

Stefan Bergh, ENGSO President, and Gerd Bischofter, Sport Austria Managing Director, opened the assembly while Omar Al-Rawi, City Council of Vienna and Michael Eschlböck, Sport Austria Vice president, greeted the participants during the evening programme in Vienna City Hall.

 

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On the occasion of the Assembly EU and ENGSO Seminars were held. Gaële Broze, Head of Sport Sector EACEA, European Commission, joined us online to present the funding opportunities for grassroots sport and sport clubs, and explain the latest developments within the EU Sport Policy and Erasmus+. Representatives of IRIS (Institutions for Respect and Integrity in Sport), Michael Cepic, Managing Director, NADA Austria, Claudia Koller, Managing Director, 100% SPORT and Marc Orlainsky, Play Fair Code facilitated a seminar on sport integrity, anti-doping and safeguarding in sport. Lisa Wainwright, CEO, Sport and Recreation Alliance, UK, and Ricky  Boardman, Head of Research, Sport and Recreation Alliance, led a workshop which explored the UK’s experience of building an advocacy coalition across the sport, recreation and physical activity sector, and Mounir Zok, CEO, N3XT Sports joined us to explain how artificial intelligence revolutionises various aspects of the sport industry, from athletic performance, training, to fan engagement.

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Before the assembly, ENGSO Executive Committees, EWS Committee and EU Advisory Committee held a meeting to discuss key activities for the second half of 2024.ENGSO Youth Chair Ugnė Chmeliauskaitė Committee member Aleesia de Iulis and ENGSO Youth’s Policy Manager Tiago Guilherme represented ENGSO Youth in the meetings.

What’s next for ENGSO Youth: 

 

  • Preparatory meeting for the European Youth Centre Study visit on Human Rights Education through Sport, 20-21 June 2024, Budapest, Hungary.

 

  • Best Inclusion project partner meeting, 21-22 June 2024, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

 

  • Addressing CEREPS participants on Importance of Mental Health in sports and presenting Hooray project research results, 24-26 June 2024, Sevilla, Spain.

 

  • Hosting workshops of Youth participation and importance of Mental Health in Sport during University games in Hungary, 12-17  July 2024, Debrecen-Miskolc, Hungary.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Sport Austria for a warm welcome in Vienna, Austria, and a wonderful event that united sport organisations from all over Europe under a common message of “sport for stronger communities”.    

 

We are also grateful to all members, partners, guests, speakers and participants for joining ENGSO at the 32nd ENGSO General Assembly and 21st ENGSO Youth Assembly, and supporting us in shaping the European grassroots movement.    



Photo copyrights: © Sport Austria/Florian Rogner

 

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