On 26th of September 2023, the Inclusion and Involvement through the Youth for Sports Integrity event took place in collaboration between ENGSO-ENGSO Youth, Panathlon International, and the European Lotteries held at the Panathlon International EU Office in Brussels, Belgium. 

The event was organized within the framework of the European Week of Sport edition of 2023, which focuses on the topics of "Involvement, Inclusion, and Innovation". The event aimed to highlight how sports integrity can foster the involvement and inclusion of young people and citizens in general.

The event was hybrid, allowing participants to join in person or remotely through Webform Live, including participants from Panathlon International members, national and international representatives of youth, sports, and education sectors, and companies. The event was an opportunity to showcase the Youth Integrity Ambassadors Programme (YIAP) as an example of best practices about the relationship between youth and sports integrity, which was launched during the 2022 edition of the European Week of Sports. 

The event kicked off with the introduction and welcome from speakers including Paul Standaert from Panathlon International, Alvise Angelini from European Lotteries, and Marie Denitton from ENGSO.

Following the opening remarks, Ms Jolien Boumkmo, a Belgian record-holder hammer throw and shot-put athlete, received the Panathlon Ethics Award for her recognition of exceptional sportsmanship and dedication to her team by stepping up and racing the 100-metre hurdles as her teammates were injured during the European Athletics Team Championships to secure 2 points for her team.

Tiago Guilherme of ENGSO Youth then presented the Youth Integrity Ambassador Program (YIAP), outlining its goals and objectives. He talked about the significance of the project as it will aim to encourage young people to play a part in fostering inclusive societies through sports integrity and fair play.

Furthermore, the event featured testimonials from sports athletes, including Mrs Laura Waem, a former Olympic Gymnast, and Vice-Chairman of the Athletes Commission of the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee, and Mr Wannes Vlaeminck, a World Champion in Acrobatic Gymnastics. They shared and highlighted their own personal experiences and perspectives, and emphasized the importance of instilling values such as fair play, respect, and honesty in young athletes.

Followed by testimonials from the YIAP Ambassadors speaking about how their involvement in YIAP has not only allowed them to gain valuable skills and knowledge in promoting integrity in sports but also provided them with a platform to make a meaningful impact within their local communities. The YIAP Ambassadors included three Ambassadors from SOEE, Anna Sélley, Sara Horvath, Robert Rauch, one EUSA representative, Cristina Kenely, and one RF Småland representative Linnea Agefjäll, where they all highlighted their various local activities which aimed to promote the importance of integrity in sports. 

The last part of the event was a Hands to Work—Youth for Sports Integrity activity, which involved participants receiving sheets with several sports cases, where they had to determine whether the examples given demonstrated fair play or not, and then engage in a final discussion together in a plenary session. This activity aimed to encourage critical thinking and promote discussions about the importance of fair play in sports.

To conclude the event Paul Standaert from Panathlon International and Alvise Angelini from European Lotteries spoke about What’s Next for Involvement, Inclusion and Innovation, and also expressed gratitude to all participants for their contributions and following along the event.

EUSA gives special thanks to our former European Solidarity Corps volunteer Cristina Kenely for representing us at this great event, as well as being the representative of the wonderful group of YIAP Ambassadors involved in the project. 

The video of this Inclusion and involvement through Youth for Sport Integrity event, can be found here.

For more information about this event, please see https://engso.eu/