One of the world’s most recognisable and celebrated sports leaders, Lord Sebastian Coe, will head the line-up of guest speakers at the 4th European Athletics-UNESCO Young Leaders Forum in Zurich, Switzerland, from 10 to 14 August.
European Athletics has announced that Lord Coe, who chaired the London 2012 Olympic Organising Committee and is a vice president of the IAAF, will speak on the final day of the Forum, which has attracted 60 participants between the ages of 18 and 26 from 46 European countries.
He is expected to talk about the role of young leaders in developing athletics and their communities and about International Inspiration, London 2012’s sporting and social legacy initiative, which in two years has reached more than 20 million children and young people through projects in 20 countries that encourage healthier lifestyles, increased engagement in education, personal development and social inclusion through sport.
“We are delighted to welcome Lord Coe to address the Forum,” said European Athletics Director General Christian Milz.
“We know he is in great demand as a speaker for every type of organisation all over the world and for him to find the time to be with our young leaders in Zurich shows how important he feels they are to our sport.”
Staged in cooperation with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization and with support from the Zurich 2014 local organising committee and Erdgas, the LOC’s partner for volunteering and sustainability, the Forum is one of the main activities of the European Athletics Young Leaders Community.
Participants have been nominated by their European Athletics Member Federations.
The Forum programme will focus on practical aspects of the design and delivery of youth-led voluntary projects in athletics.
Prior to arrival in Zurich, each of the participants will have prepared a multi-media display about their own projects, which will be exhibited during the Forum. At the end of the Forum they will vote on the best display and prizes will be awarded.
Much of the Forum’s content will be delivered by members of the Community, including teams from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, who will run workshops on the successful projects they have delivered in the last two years as examples of good practice.
The programme will also feature presentations by Lothar Bielke, who uses the practice of mindfulness to develop business leaders’ skills and help them increase their personal performance, and Sara Massini of the youth section of ENGSO (the European Non-Governmental Sport Organisation), who will speak about funding opportunities for youth-led projects through the European Union.
Other guests include Daniela Decurtins from Erdgas, who will speak on her company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility through initiatives in volunteering and environmental sustainability.
A panel discussion featuring Veselmøy Rue Barkenes from Norway’s Gjensidge Foundation, Stephen Reynard from the non-governmental organisation Swiss Academy for Development which operates the sportanddev.org platform, and Penny van der Kaars from European Athletics’ partner SPAR, will focus on how members of the Young Leaders Community with project ideas might engage with and find support from organisations that share similar aims and values.
After the daily working sessions, the Forum participants will attend the first three evening sessions of the European Athletics Championships in the Letzigrund Stadium.
Updates on activities during the Forum can be seen at http://www.athleticscommunity.org and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AthleticsCommunity.
The European Athletics Young Leaders Community was established in 2011to promote volunteering and youth-led projects in athletics and has recently welcomed its 1,900th member. The members have shared information about more than 240 local projects and have registered more than 52,000 hours of volunteer work.