A strong EuroHockey influence played its part at last week’s European Youth and Sports Platform 2023 in Stockholm.
The platform is organised by ENGSO Youth who are playing an increasingly significant impact in engaging, connecting and empowering young people across Europe within the sport sector.
Their mission is to give youth a real say in sport and provide spaces where young leaders can gather and find joint solutions to their challenges.
This led to their first ever European Youth and Sport Platform (#EYSP2023) which brought together around 100 young leaders.
Among them, ENGSO Youth is chaired by former Lithuanian international and EuroHockey Youth Panel member (from 2017 to 2019) and current Development Committee member Ugne Chmeliauskaite.
She was joined at the event by EuroHockey Education and Development Co-ordinator Cameron Findler and EuroHockey Youth Panel co-chairs Cedric Vermeiren and Chloe Jordan who showcased panel over the course of the weekend.
They discussed three main topics identified at the EU level, by the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, as priorities for the Youth and Sport sectors, namely: Good Governance: Youth in Action! Digitalisation and Sport Sustainability in Sport.
EuroHockey Youth panelists Chloe Jordan and Cedric Vermeiren speak about the panel; above, Cameron Findler during one of the presentations
Following the weekend, a paper of conclusions was presented to the EU: https://engsoyouth.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Final-Conclusions-EYSP-2023.pdf
For Cedric Vermeiren, he says the platform was a hugely beneficial event to inspire the EuroHockey Youth Panel and influence next steps.
“Don’t miss chances! Just go for it,” he said was one of the main messages. “It was something said at different workshops and by different speakers – ‘go for it and don’t be afraid of what comes!’
“The platform got everyone talking about youth connections via different workshops and some important guest speakers,” he said following the event.
“For example, the European Commission, the European Youth Foundation, the European Youth Forum, the European Health Organisation – they were all there to talk us through what is happening with youth in sports in Europe. We learned a lot from them.
“It was an honour and great opportunity to hear from these organisations about what is on the agenda in the sports setting.”
From a hockey perspective, he says there was plenty to take in, especially in building on the foundations currently in place.
“As a hockey youth panel, we can learn a lot from other organisations, particularly in relation to involvement with EuroHockey. The hockey youth panel currently has a narrower focus – it’s progress but it is nice to see how other sports and organisations deal with it.
Ugnė Chmeliauskaite at the platform
“One of the things we thought about was the legacy of the youth. It is something we need to keep in mind, how to keep the panel working in EuroHockey and how to keep activating youth members through the years.
“We have been doing the Youth Festival for a few years and are excited about this summer [in August in Mönchengladbach] as well. This platform got us thinking about the follow-up, what about the candidates from the festival and what can we do for those participants to make their involvement in European hockey even more active.”
***
Cedric has been on the EuroHockey Youth panel since 2017, first attending the youth festival and then becoming a Youth Leader with a focus on Hockey ID. He became co-chair with Chloe Jordan in December 2022.
“”It is amazing to be part of. It has been six years and I have learned many different skills, both on the sports side but also on the personal skills.
“The connections I have made through the Youth Panel are massive and the changes we made, I really look forward every two years to the Youth Festival where you can see the developments we have made for youth hockey.
“For me, as a Belgian, it’s normal that hockey is big but at the festival you see people from Malta or Finland, it is really interesting to see how they deal with things, how we can help them to progress and make hockey better.
“We strive to empower, unite and inspire the youth of hockey.
“Use your voice for those that cannot use theirs. – that is a quote which really inspires me to keep on going to make a difference.”
** To find out more about the platform, see the event website here: https://engsoyouth.eu/2023/06/05/european-youth-sport-platform-2023-shapes-the-future-agenda-of-the-youth-and-sport-in-europe/
** For more on EuroHockey Youth Leadership, click here: https://eurohockey.org/youth-leadership/
