The European Commission in collaboration with Maltese Presidency and SportMalta organised this year’s European Sport Forum on March 8 and 9 in St Julian in Malta. Over 350 participants, key stakeholders in sport took part at the event, including representatives of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) – Secretary General Mr Matjaz Pecovnik and Communications & Projects Manager Mr Andrej Pisl.

The Forum commenced with an introductory welcome session by Mr Mark Cutajar, Director General for Sport; Mr Jens Nymand Christensen, Deputy Director General Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission, Mrs Petra Kammervert, chair of the CULT Committee in the European Parliament and Mr Janez Kocijancic, President of the European Olympic Committees.



Various topics where discussed during the sessions on the first day, mainly sport diplomacy, gender based violence in sport, employability, inclusion and the role of volunteers, digital technology in sport, anti-doping, environmental impact of sport and social platform for sports. The second day kicked off by an introductory speech by Mr Yves Le Lostecque, Head of the Sport Unit of the European Commission, highlighting good governance and integrity in sport as the focal points.



The session on good governance included also organisations who backed up the pledge to implement Good Governance in European Sport. European University Sports Association (EUSA) is one of those organisations, and EUSA was also one of the selected organisations given the chance to share their views and activities on the topic of good governance in the organisation and activities. EUSA Secretary General Mr Matjaz Pecovnik addressed the participants, reflecting the values of participation, inclusion, transparency, and especially highlighting the role of volunteers.



The highlight of the second day was the high level debate, with the participation of European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Mr Tibor Navracsics who alongside with Maltese Parliamentary Secretary Mr Chris Agius, Co-Chair of the Intergroup of the European Parliament Mr Santiago Fisas, and Vice-President of the Swedish Sport Confederation Mrs Susanne Erlandsson discussed the future of grassroots sport.



As part of the Forum programme, the supporting organisations of the good governance pledge also officially signed the declaration, in presence of Commissioner Navracsics. On behalf of EUSA, the declaration was signed by the Secretary General Mr Pecovnik.



The Forum featured selected projects co-funded through the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, including two projects where EUSA is a partner in – Strengthening Coaching with the Objective to Raise Equality (SCORE), presenting its conclusions, and Voices for truth and dignity focuses on combatting sexualised violence in sport through the voices of those affected (VOICE), presenting the project importance and aims.



EU Sport Forum was also a great opportunity for networking, for strengthening partnerships with the established partners, as well as establishing contacts with potential new partners.



At this occasion, EUSA representatives met with the President of the European Olympic Committees Mr Janez Kocijancic, President of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Mr Ronald Kramer and representatives of several other partners, including the European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation (ENGSO) and its youth branch ENGSO Youth, European Athlete as Student (EAS) - the Dual Career Network and several others.



We are also happy to report that the Forum was also attended by several university sport family members and representatives.



After the conclusion of the Forum, the European Commission hosted a meeting with the coordinating bodies and partners of the European Week of Sport and the #beactive campaign, attended also by EUSA, an official partner of the Week and campaign.



For more information, please see http://ec.europa.eu/sport/events/201700127-eu-sport-forum_en