On 16-17 April, the EOC EU Office attended the EU Sport Forum 2024 in Liège, Belgium. At this event, a broad range of topics were tackled, starting with EU and Olympic values, integrity of athletes, women in sport, sustainability, digital media, athletes' rights, European football, and lifelong sport.
Following the welcoming words of the Commissioner responsible for Sport, Iliana Ivanova, Minister President of the Federation Bruxelles-Wallonie and MEP Tomasz Frankowski, the President of the Belgian Olympic Committee, Jean-Michel Saive, set the scene with his keynote speech, presenting in a captivating manner his journey from athlete to leader of a sport organization, giving special attention to the importance of Olympic values in today’s context. Values were at the core of the High-level panel: “Paris 2024 and UEFA EURO 2024 as vehicles for EU values?”, in which José Manuel Araújo, EOC Executive Committee Member and Chair of the EU and International Relations Commission, and Raymon Blondel, the President of European Paralympic Committee, exposed their perspective on the importance and the impact of the EU, Olympic and Paralympic common values, and the legacy that the Olympic and Paralympic movement is leaving. In the parallel session: “Green and sustainable sport – Testimonials”, the EOC EU Office Erasmus+ project, OCEAN, that focuses on carbon footprint neutrality, was presented by Eva Rebmann, the EOC EU Office Deputy Director.
The team of EOC EU Office was delighted to meet many of its partners and other stakeholders from the European sports movement during these two days.