The inaugural edition of the European Youth and Sport Platform 2023 was held in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 1–4, 2023, organized by ENGSO Youth in cooperation with ENGSO and the Swedish Sports Confederation. 

The event brought together youth advocacy, discussions on global challenges, inspirational ideas exchange, and building the future through and with sport, with participants including facilitators, young leaders, and editorial and rapporteurs’ teams. Good governance, sustainability, and digitization were the major debate areas under the theme of Youth Legacy in and within Sport, in accordance with the Swedish EU Presidency's aims.

On the 1st of June, the event kicked off with an official opening from Mr Stefan Bergh, ENGSO President; Ms Victoria Escobar, a Swedish Sports Confederation Board member; and ENGSO Youth Chair, Ms Ugne Chmeliauskaite, who gave warm greetings for the next few days. Moreover, the event was moderated by Ms Lorraine Moalosi. 

Following the official opening, the first session was a high-level panel on the importance of Youth voices in the European sports setting, moderated by ENGSO Youth Chair Ms Ugne Chmeliauskaite. The speakers included Ms Sophie Kwasny, Council of Europe Sport Unit, Head of the Sports Division, EPAS Executive Secretary;  Mr Stefan Bergh, ENGSO President, Swedish Sports Confederation Secretary General; MsVioleta Birzniece, European Commission Sport Unit, Policy Officer, and Youth Ideas Labs Coordinator; Mr Mark McNulty, European Youth Forum Board member; Ms Sylvia Ivanova, European Youth Foundation, Deputy Head; and Ms Victoria Escobar, Swedish Sports Confederation Board member.

Furthermore, the Swedish Presidency held two sessions of #BeActive in the afternoon, where participants could choose twoactivities to participate in, including sports such as Wheelchair Basketball; Disc Golf; Running; Gym Training; Quiz Walk; Archery and Outdoor Swedish Games, Kubb.

On the second day, the morning started with an Out & Active Sport session, with participants choosing between a Morning Run, Kung Fu, and Pilates session.

The first session focused on the topic of Good Governance: Youth in Action, moderated by ENGSO Youth Project and Policy Manager, Mr Tiago Guilherme. The speakers on this panel discussed  important details around their programmes and the benefits of it, including Dr Sophia Papamichalopoulos, OLY, discussing the IOC Young Leaders Programme; Mr Jan Fiala, from the European Commission Youth Ideas Labs Programme; Ms Rawand Ben Brahim, from ENGSO Youth Young Delegates Programme; Mr Cameron Findler, EHF Youth Panel Programme; and Ms Iva Glibo, discussing the New Leaders Programme.

The session was followed by three workshops, each of which participants had the choice of which they wanted to attend. The workshops included Role of Youth: Building up Local Communities, led by the IOC Young Leaders, Dr Sophia Papamichalopoulos OLY, Kamil Pavlinský, and Aneta Grabmüler Soldati.

Then there was a workshop on Sport Integrity in the Mindset of Youth, that was held by the Youth Integrity Ambassadors, Henrik Svensson, Emma Elmquist, and Linnéa Agefjäll. This workshop represented an educational follow up and presentation of the topic of Integrity in sports, which is the main topic of the Youth Integrity Ambassadors Programme, in which EUSA is a project partner. 

Workshop on Youth Voices/ HealthyLifestyle4All edition was facilitated by the EC Youth Ideas Labs Representatives, Tabea Werner, Ashish Avasthi, and Leonardo Mikac.

The afternoon session featured a presentation on Digitalization and Sports by Mr Tiago Fernandes, President of the European Esports Federation, focusing the attention on the future and progress of E-Sports in the sport industry. Following that presentation, there were three workshops on the theme of Digitalisation and Sports, from which participants choose which one they wanted to attend.

One workshop was on Digitalisation and Mental Health, held by Ms Katja Čič, Youth Health Manager, of the Youth Health Organisation. Another workshop was on the Role of Social Media in everyday (Sport) Life, hosted by Ms Polona Fonda, ENGSO & ENGSO Youth Communication Officer, and Mr Filip Filipic, ENGSO Youth Vice-Chair, while the last workshop was on the Gamification in Sport setting, held by Mr Chris Jonasson, General Secretary of the Swedish Esports Federation.

The day continued with an Exhibition fair from various Youth&Sport Organisations, where the European Universities Sports Association (EUSA) showcased the association and was represented at the stand by EUSA Communications Officer Ms Hristina Hristova, ESC Volunteer Ms Cristina Kenely, and EUSA Intern Ms Emma Carriere.

The day concluded with a film screening of "Call Us Interns" by the European Youth Forum, showcasing challenges with unpaid internships, youth stereotypes and the growing movement for intern rights across the world.

The last day of the EYSP was focused on the discussion on the last main topic, Sustainability in Sport, where they presented the Award for Best ENGSO Youth Volunteer 2021–2023 to Anton Klischewski, as well as the winners of the essay competition on the theme of ‘working in a sports organisation in 2040’.

Three last workshops on the topic of sustainability in sports were held: having the topic of economic sustainability: a sustainable sports business model, held by Mr Aladdin Rifai, EU Projects Manager, how to increase social sustainability in sports, hosted by Ms Tarja Krum, Swedish Sports Association, and Ms Janina Sjöstrand, WELLcome Project and Second-hand Materials Coming to Life, conducted by Mr Niklas Ryholt, Fritidsbanken Sverige.

After the workshops, the event had its concluding session, to summarise the three main topics discussed during this event and addressed the recommendations that the participants developed for policymakers and decision-makers. Speakers included Carl Hedin, who spoke on the recommendations from Good Governance: Youth in Action, followed by Molly Hartill, who discussed the recommendations for sustainability in sports, and Marica Barbieri, who addressed the suggestions on digitalization and sports.

The panel also featured national, European, and international policymakers, discussing what they hope to achieve in the future with Mr Tomas Johansson, the Head of the Sport Unit, Ministry of Social Affairs in Sweden; followed by Mr Stefan Bergh, the ENGSO President; and Ms Ana-Marija Garcevic, the Head of Activities, Olympic Games Engagement, International Olympic Committee.

The event concluded with the closing remarks delivered by ENGSO President Mr Stefan Bergh and ENGSO Youth Chair Ms Ugne Chmeliauskaite. They thanked the participants for attending this event and outlined their plans for the second edition of the European Youth and Sports Platform 2025, which would be held in Warsaw, Poland, from June 5th to 8th, 2025.

Last on the agenda were the festivities with picnics, music, and fun, during which participants enjoyed their final evening in Stockholm.

For more information, please see www.engsoyouth.eu