The 6th edition of the European Sport Platform (ESP2022) was held on October 12 - 14 in the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. The event was organised by the European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation (ENGSO) and hosted by the Sports Confederation of  Portugal, with the main theme “Strengthening sport for stronger communities”. 

The event was attended by multiple representatives of European sport, including the European University Sports Association (EUSA).

The event had a great opening, with the Equality in Sport Conference as well as EQUIP project final event, taking place on the first day.

After the warm welcome, three parallel sessions enriched the great start of the European Sport Platform: Human Library – where more than 15 people came to share their experiences and expertise with the participants in relation to the EQUIP topics: gender equality, LGBTQI+, disability, socio-economic status and racial/ethnic discrimination., Call to action - time to act! People shared their needs and challenges to improve equality in sports in their reality and Walk of Privilege - with this role play, participants experienced various discrimination and were able to reflect on their impacts. 

EUSA Communications officer, Ms Hristina Hristova was part of the Human Library sessions, as one of the experts, sharing her personal experience on the topic of inclusion and equal opportunities for all, as well as sharing the journey and outcomes of the Inclusion in Sport (iSport) project.

"In those unstable times, sport has never been more important. Sport has the power to unite, connect and strengthen communities." – this is how Mr Stefan Bergh, ENGSO President, opened and welcomed ENGSO members, friends and partners to the European Sports Platform. Welcome words also followed from: Mr Carlos Cardoso (President of Sports Confederation of Portugal and ENGSO Honorary President), Ms Silvia Vermelho (Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth), Ms Filipa Godinho (ENGSO Vice President) and Mr Angelo Pereira (Councillor for Sport from Câmara Municipal de Lisboa).

The programme then kicked off with an informational session on values and policy in sport, and a presentation of ENGSO position paper on the next EU Work Plan on Sport. Moderated by Ms Sara Massini, ENGSO Secretary General, and Mr Theo Neyenhuis, ENGSO EU Advisory Committee Chair.  This session offered insight into the document that proposes concrete actions and steps forward to improve the position of grassroots sport in Europe. The participants, representatives of sport organisations, had the chance to exchange experiences from national level and discuss proposed action.

The session given from Ms Bianca Quadrokus, German Olympic Sports Confederation’s Officer for Sport facilities, Environment and Sustainability explained how sport assumes social responsibility and can support sustainable development, also presenting the tools, projects and sustainability strategy of DOSB.

An insightful workshop on sustainable sport management, led by Ms Karin Book, senior lecturer in sport science at the Department of Sport Sciences at Malmö University and Mr Jeffrey Levine, assistant clinical professor of Sport Business at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, introduced sustainable development, showcased the good practises from the USA and offered insights teaching into sustainable sport management.

Virtually joining, participants had the chance to also hear from Mr Olivier Smith, Deputy Head of Unit – Sport at the European Commission, presenting the work, initatives and priorities of the European Commission's Sport Unit.

Finally the day concluded with new knowledge, tools and resources, and parallel sessions on topic of three dimensions of sustainability:

- Economical, led by Mr Geert Hendriks, Chief Engagement Officer The SHIFT and Founding Director Sport and Sustainability International,

- Social, facilitated by  Ms Tarja Krum, Sustainability manager at Finlands Svenska Idrott & ENGSO EWS Vice Chair and Mr Louis Moustakas, Researcher and Lecturer at German Sport University,

- Environmental, presented by Ms Carole Ponchon, Green Sports Hub Europe project manager and Mr Lawrie McLaren, Senior Managing Director at BCW Brussels.

The third and last day of the European Sport Platform started with Mr Poul Broberg, director of the department of Public Affairs in the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark Danmarks Idrætsforbund (DIF), giving a presentation with a on good governance in sport based on a good practices of DIF, sharing concrete actions and suggestions for strengthening good governance.

The day then continued with insightful parallel sessions on “Youth and integrity” with Ms Rute Soares, Mr Paul Standaert, Mr Bruno Bidarra and Ms Francisca Pop, “Safeguarding in sport” with Mr Tine Vertommen, and “Fair play in grassroots sport” with Mr Philippe Housiaux and Mr Bruno Avelar Rosa.

The young ambassadors from the Youth Integrity Ambassadors Programme (YIAP) project in which EUSA is also a partner, completed a nice workshop with practical examples of decision making regarding Fair Play in sports, as one of the main pillars under integrity, as well as, shared their personal experience and gained knowledge on the topic, from the project itself.

The educational part of the conference, concluded with a session “HealthyLifestyle4All initiative – Legacy of Youth Ideas Labs” that addressed the question of how to promote healthy lifestyle and include youth in the decision-making processes.

This session was led by ENGSO Youth Chair Ms Ugne Chmeliauskaite and ENGSO Youth Policy manager Mr Tiago Guilherme who were joined on stage by Mr Paulo Rocha, Head of Sports for All Division, Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth, Ms Laura-Maria Lehiste (Tiidla), Development Officer at the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA) and Mr Pedro Afonso Valente, PhD student at the University of Coimbra, giving the audience a great discussion and insights on the importance of the Youth Labs.

The European Sport Platform was then concluded with official announcement of ENGSO General Assembly 2024, hosted by Sport Austria, & European Sport Platform 2024, hosted by NOC Kosovo.

For more information about the Equaliy in Sport conference and the European Sport Platform, please see https://engso.eu/