In March 2026, the SAFE HARBOUR consortium submitted its third deliverable: the Implementation Progress Report. Marking the halfway point of the project, this report takes stock of implementation activities and provides a systematic overview of the project’s progress to date.
The deliverable aims to provide a continuous assessment of process, impact and outreach, evaluating the project’s outcomes and informing its next steps accordingly. To this end, the Implementation Progress Report draws on a combination of qualitative and quantitative indicators measuring the implementation, satisfaction, outreach and coverage of the project’s activities. To ensure continuity and coherence, this assessment is structured around the specific objectives of each work package.
Regarding the project’s implementation timeline, the report confirms that activities are proceeding as scheduled. Two of the four in-person project meetings have already taken place and yielded promising developments, the European Conference was successfully organised and generated fruitful discussions, and all deliverables have been submitted on time and duly approved by the European Commission. With a view to ensuring the smooth running of the project, 12 Monthly Consortium Meetings, 9 Peer-to-Peer Roundtables and 2 Thematic Seminars have been successfully held, with additional editions scheduled and the project firmly on track to achieve its upcoming milestones.
The Implementation Progress Report also reflects a positive perception of the project’s implementation among consortium members, with a satisfaction rate of 75% regarding the running of the project.
The project’s outreach has equally been notable, with significant engagement across social media and online platforms, as well as participation in and mentions at several dissemination events, resulting in a wide and diverse range of stakeholders being reached.
These achievements reflect the consortium’s active and sustained engagement with the project, with all partners completing the requested forms and fulfilling their tasks in a timely manner. This is further evidenced in the growing enthusiasm to participate in the project, with an additional 13 NOCs having joined SAFE HARBOUR activities as observers since its launch in January 2025, bringing the total to 35 sport governing bodies (33 NOCs and 2 IFs) and transforming SAFE HARBOUR from a project into a movement working to embed safeguarding as a core principle of the European sport environment.
Background information on the SAFE HARBOUR project.
SAFE HARBOUR, standing for “Strengthening Response Mechanisms for Safeguarding in European Sport”, is a 30-month project co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Sport Programme 2024. Coordinated by the EOC EU Office, the consortium brings together Thomas More and the Asser Institute as experts in safeguarding, human rights and law, alongside 2 International Federations (the International Biathlon Union and the International Ice Hockey Federation) and 20 National Olympic Committees (Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also involved as an external resource.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of European NOCs and Federations to address safeguarding concerns by identifying gaps, developing a European Response framework and fostering collaboration. This framework will be adapted to national contexts and complemented by training and awareness initiatives to enhance safeguarding at both national and European levels. Ultimately, SAFE HARBOUR seeks to equip partner organisations with the tools and confidence to implement effective safeguarding measures, establish a robust support network for Safeguarding Officers, and lay the groundwork for a future IOC Regional Safeguarding Hub.
