The European Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) organised a hybrid info day on Erasmus+ Sport and other EU funding opportunities on January 30, 2023.

The event was opened in person by Mr Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Erasmus Mundus & Sport Unit at EACEA and Mr Tomas Johansson, Senior Adviser at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Government of Sweden, and by Ms Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth and Ms Tiziana Beghin, Member of the European Parliament via video address.



Several sessions were held in a plenary form; starting with the introduction to the Erasmus+ Sport Programme and practical examples of project implementation, chaired my Mr Le Lostecque, with panellists Ms Gael Broze, Head of Erasmus Sport Sector at EACEA; Ms Vanina Milanova, President of the EMCA Assembly and Secretary General of Levski - Sport for all; Ms Ana Silva, Senior Expert at the Sport Cabinet at the Municipality of Lousada; and Mr Luciano Di Fonzo, Deputy Head of Erasmus Mundus & Sport Unit at EACEA.



Next session was on Erasmus+ Sport Policy priorities, held in a form of panel discussion. The session was chaired by Ms Florencia Van Houdt, Head of Sport Unit at DG EAC of the European Commission, and included speakers Ms Laura Capranica, Professor at the University of Rome Foro Italico and Chair of European Athlete as Student (EAS) Dual Career Network; Mr Bart Ooijen, Netherlands Permanent Representation to the EU; Mr Thomas Pedersen-Smith, Head of National Associations at the European Hockey Federation; Mr Stefano Pintus, Sport Unit Policy Officer at DG EAC of the European Commission; and Ms Cathy Verschoore, Deputy Manager at the Department of Culture, Sports and Leisure at the City of Gent. Through the discussions, successful examples of how innovative practices and projects can be funded through Erasmus+.



In the afternoon, three simultaneous parallel sessions were held, aimed on a practical approach: Erasmus+ Sport How to apply?, Erasmus+ Sport How to present your proposal? and Erasmus+ Sport How to present a Capacity Building proposal?

Last plenary session was on other EU funding opportunities. The session was co-chaired by Mr Luciano Di Fonzo, Deputy Head of Erasmus Mundus & Sport Unit at EACEA and Mr Olivier Smith, Deputy Head of Unit Sport Policy at DG EAC of the European Commission; with panellists from EACEA and Sport Unit: Ms Violeta Birzniece, Ms Michael Serneels, Ms Izabela Pelczynska, and Ms Sophie Lemel. This session presented other funding opportunities in the field of sport such as mobility, pilot projects and preparatory actions and EU awards.



The sport info day was closed by Mr Le Lostecque, with a networking session and reception following the formal programme. The sessions were also live-streamed, and presentations will be available shortly on the official page of the event.



Erasmus+ Sport Info Day was attended also by EUSA representative Mr Andrej Pisl, Communications and Projects Manager. Apart from getting valuable information and being able to nurture the cooperation with the European Commission, the event is also a great opportunity to continue cooperation and networking with some EUSA members, existing strategic and project partners, as well as explore possibilities for new cooperations.



European University Sports Association through the EUSA Institute is a strong partner in several projects, funded by the European Union; on different topics relevant for the organisation: Clean and Fair Sport, Dual career, Equality and Inclusion, Good Governance, Mobility, Sustainability, Volunteering.
Current ongoing project with EUSA Institute partnership are on:
-    Dual career: Brand Value Alignment through Dual Career (BRAVA), Micro Learning Entrepreneurship for Athletes (MLEA)
-    Equality and Inclusion: Inclusion in Sport (iSport), Innovating Football Leadership through Practice and Policy (iFLIPP)
-    Good Governance: Enhancing Sport Organisations and Management (ESOM), Youth Integrity Ambassador Programme (YIAP), (Uni)ted forces to support the education of (Uni)versity sport comm(Uni)ty (Uni4s)
-    Sustainability: Green Sports Hub Europe (GSHE)
-    Volunteering: Future Volunteers – Key to Success in Generation Z (K2SGENZ), European Solidarity Corps – ESC Volunteering
Please see EUSA Projects for details on the ongoing and previous projects.

Please see https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/news-events/events/info-session-erasmus-sport-2023-2023-01-30_en for more information about the Erasmus+ Sport Info Day.