The 18th Council of Europe Conference of ministers responsible for sport was held in Porto, Portugal between October 8 and 10, 2024, attended by EPAS Governing Board members and Consultative Committee, including the European University Sports Association (EUSA).

The event started on October 8 in the morning at the Alfandega Congress Center in Porto, with the commemoration conference on the 10th anniversary of the Macolin convention, legal instrument and the only rule of international law on the manipulation of sports competitions.

The dedicated thematic topic day started with the opening speeches setting the scene, by Bjorn Berge, Deputy Secretary General, Council of Europe (COE); Pedro Dias, Secretary of State for Sport, Portugal; Andre Villas Boas, President of FC Porto; Paquerette Girard Zapelli, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, International Olympic Committee (IOC); and George Mavrotas, Chair of the Follow-up Committee of the Macolin Convention and Secretary General of Sport, Greece.

Distinguished array of experts and speakers lead the participants through major achievements in the field of tackling sport manipulation over the past decade, followed by a session on obstacles faced and challenges overcome, and the Macolin convention theme concluded with a session on future perspectives and emerging opportunities.

In the afternoon, dedicated meetings were held; including the Meeting of Senior Officials of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) Governing board, Ministers or Heads of Delegation; the meeting of EPAS Consultative Committee Bureau, as well as the full meeting of the EPAS Consultative Committee. EUSA Projects and Policy Manager Andrej Pisl is a member of the EPAS CC Bureau, and the representative of the organisation in the Consultative Committee.

20 Youth delegates, nominated by the EPAS member country representatives, as well as by the members of the Consultative Committee took part in the event, symbolising the importance of youth also in policy making. EUSA nominated Klea Taipllari, member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Student Commission, who attended the conference and its activities as well.

The event also featured three exhibitions, displayed throughout the three days; on  Women in Sports: Pioneering, Challenges, Inspiration, Equality; on New Leaders Programme (youth leadership): For a more equal sport; and on Sport in Ukraine during the War.

The main part of the conference started on October 9, with the opening by Pedro Duarte, Portuguese Minister for Parliamentary Affairs responsible for Sport; Bjorn Berge, Deputy Secretary General, Council of Europe; Linda Hofstad Helleland, Chairperson of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media of the Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe. Spotlight on the European Sports Charter was opened by a video address by Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and a panel on the European Sports Charter, with the speakers Pedro Duarte, Portuguese Minister for Parliamentary Affairs responsible for Sport; Raymon Blondel, President of the European Paralympic Committee (EPC); Benny Bonsu, Director of Daily Content at Olympic Channel Services (OCS); Morten Schmidt, Global Director of Programmes and Grants, Laureus Sport for Good; and Gevrise Emane, Lifestyle Athletes Manager, French National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance (INSEP).

The topic session on Collaborative Governing followed, with an overarching question Time to Adapt the Rules of the Game. Gil Averous, Grench Minister for Sports, Youth and Non-for-profit organisations; Maja Wloszczowska, Athlete Council of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA); and Cecile Chaussard, Specialist in sports law and senior lecturer in law, University of Bourgogne, debated on this topic. The next session on Good Governance was themed Moving the Goal Post Forwards, with contributions by Dominique Hasler, Lichtenstein Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport; James Carr, Deputy Executive Director of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF); and Marko Begovic, Associate Professor, Molde University College. A special session on Ukrainian sport during the war was also held, with contribution by Matvii Bidnyi, Ukrainian Minister of Youth and Sports; and Yaroslava Mahuchikh, World and Olympic Champion in Athletics.

The youth initiative roundtable, entitled Champions for Youth in Sports followed, introduced by Maurizio Cuttin, Member of the Bureau of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe and Charlotte Girard Fabre, Chair of the EPAS Consultative Committee. Among the youth delegates, two young speakers shared their thoughts and inspired the participants to include youth more in the decision making process - Sara Yasin from United Kingdom and Antoine Spillmann from France.

Delegates of the 18th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport also adopted a special resolution on collaborative governing and good governance in sport, supporting a fresh approach to match its societal importance.

The closing session of the main part of the conference was done by Gianluca Esposito, Director General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Council of Europe; Aiste Zedelyte-Kaminske, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sport in Lithuania, representing the Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe; Alexandre Husting, Chair of the EPAS Governing Board; Charlotte Girard Fabre, Chair of the EPAS Consultative Committee; Pedro Duarte, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs responsible for Sport in Portugal.

Last day of the conference was held on October 10, with focus sessions on Leadership through Gender Equality in Sport; and on Dual Career: Effective Strategies and Future Directions. Both sessions were also streamed online and are available to viewing. Gianluca Esposito, Director General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Council of Europe and Pedro Dias, Portuguese Secretary of State for Sport made the introduction to the sessions.

Focus session on gender equality kicked off by a keynote presentation by Annamarie Phelps, Olympian, Co-Chair of the Global Executive, International Working Group on Women & Sport (IWG), followed by a panel discussion on solutions to greater leadership for women in sport: overcoming barriers and building bridges. Moderated by Francine Hetherington Raveney, Deputy Executive Secretary of EPAS, the keynote speaker Annamarie Phelps was joined by other panellists - Paoline Ekambi, President and Co-founder of Sportail Community and former Captain of the French Basketball team; Ticha Penicheiro, former professional player, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA); and Andre Seabra, Director of the Portugal Football School.

Focus session on dual career kicked off with a keynote presentation by Vitor Pardal, Portuguese National Coordinator of the High-Performance Sports Units in School. Topical focus on navigating dual career in sport: Proven Strategies and Future Pathways was moderated by Laura Capranica, European Athlete Student (EAS) President; with the following panellists joining the keynote speaker Vitor Pardal: Duarte Nuno Fernandes Lopes, Expert on dual career, Chief of Staff at the Secretary of State for Sport in Portugal; Gevrise Emane, Lifestyle Athletes Manager, French National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance (INSEP); Sofia Ramalho, Benfica Basketball Female Team Manager, alumna of the International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) Time Out 2.0 project; Andy Criere Martin, Olympian and Professional Surfer from Spain, and Andrej Pisl, Projects and Policy Manager at the European University Sports Association (EUSA).

The event was closed by a summary and thanks to the hosts and speakers by Sophie Kwasny, Head of the Council of Europe’s Sport Division, Executive Secretary of EPAS. In 2025, the main sport-related event of the Council of Europe and EPAS will be the Diversity conference in October in Malta, tacking intergenerational cooperation; while the next Ministerial conference will be held in 2026 in Monaco.

The event was also an opportunity for promotion of university sport, dual career, and specific projects in the field - including the project DiscoverU - Discovering University Sport and Dual Career, coordinated by the EUSA Institute, and co-funded by the European Union.

The 18th Council of Europe Conference of ministers responsible for sport was organised in the 75th anniversary year of the Council of Europe, in joint cooperation of the Portuguese Government, Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth (IPDJ), and the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) of the Council of Europe (COE).

For more information, please visit https://sportministerial2024.gov.pt and https://www.coe.int/epas.