An online dissemination session of the Skills for You(th) through Sport (SK4YS) project, funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme of the European Union, took place on Thursday, October 8, with the EUSA Institute's active participation adding to the success of the event.

SK4YS is a transnational initiative, of which the EUSA Institute is a partner, which aims to raise awareness on soft skills gained through sport-based educational programmes. The main outcome of the project, the SK4YS manual, features good European practices and practical tips for youth and sport organisations to develop sport-based educational programmes for youngsters to boost their employability.

Co-ordinated by the European Non-governmental Sport Organisation (ENGSO), other project partners include Oltalom Sport Association (HUN), Budapest Association for International Sports (HUN), European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (FRA), Cyprus Youth Council (CYP) and the EUSA Institute (SLO).



The purpose of the online dissemination workshop was to introduce the SK4YS project and manual to interested participants before sharing a number of good practise organisations analysed in the project, as the link between skills development and sport was discussed.

Ms Ugne Chmeliauskaite, Chair of ENGSO Youth, kicked off proceedings by outlining the goals and of the project, before each project partner was introduced, as Ms Arianna Caruso, an OPES Volunteers working in the EUSA Office, detailed the workings of EUSA and its Institute to those in attendance.

The SK4YS manual was then introduced, led by ENGSO Youth Policy and Projects Manager Mr Bence Garamvolgyi, with project partners also making contributions to the presentation, including Mr Tomasz Olszewski, a European Solidarity Corps Volunteer who spent time working on the project during his 12-month stay at EUSA earlier in the year.



Topics presented that form part of the manual included sports contribution to skills development and employability, transferable and soft skills linked to sport, and the different type of programmes involved.

Challenges of programme implementation were also discussed, as well as a checklist for developing interventions, while fundraising and resource options were also highlighted.

Thereafter, three different SK4YS good practice organisations were able to present their work: Ms Navjeet Sira from the Change Foundation running Street Elite (United Kingdom), Ms Emily Ronek from GAME (Denmark) and Mr Clark Tritto from PeacePlayers (Cyprus). All three gave interesting insight into their activities, discussing both the positive and challenging outcomes associated with their organisations.



A question and answer session with the different speakers and the online audience was then held before concluding the virtual session.

The SK4YS Manual, filled with various tips on all the above-mentioned topics, is freely available for download, and available HERE.

More information about the SK4YS project can be found at youth-sport.net/sk4ys.