ENGSO Youth joins EUSA for the European Universities Games 2024
The European Universities Games 2024 (EUG 2024), hosted by the university cities of Debrecen and Miskolc, Hungary, from 12-24 July 2024, are a multisport event engaging athletes from the European universities. ENGSO Youth was there to present its work in the field of youth and sport, and to deliver workshops on youth participation and mental health.
ENGSO Youth Committee Alessia De Iulis kicked off the games by participating in the EUSA Forum 2024 where she presented the activities and work of ENGSO Youth, and highlighted the successful collaboration with EUSA and joint initiatives, such as Youth Integrity Ambassador Program and the YouMind Project. The EUSA Forum 2024 was a key event held within the ESOM Project (Enhancing Sport Organisations and Management), and taking place on 13 July 2024 in Debrecen.
The importance of researching and enhancing cooperation and joint work with key actors in the youth and sport field was the key remark ENGSO Youth wanted to share during the EUSA conference.
During the EUG 2024, Alessia also delivered two workshops on youth participation and mental health in sport which were organised within the Erasmus+ funded YouMind* project. She presented key figures on the prevalence of mental health issues among young people and discussed the benefits of sports and physical activity for mental health of young people. The workshop also introduced the topic of youth participation within sport organisations and the development of effective mechanisms for young people to get involved and actively contribute to decision making processes in sport.
*YouMind project partners are committed to healthy lifestyles and well-being in the sports community, recognising the importance of mental health for young athletes. It is well known that the sports environment can be a factor in the development of mental health struggles for some young athletes, which partners aim to prevent through three main project objectives: Raising awareness about the importance of mental health in sports (through surveys, workshops and social media campaign); Developing different strategies to prevent mental health issues for young athletes; Developing a guideline in the form of a digital leaflet and promotional video on the athlete’s experiences.