More than 60 young people representing 45 countries have arrived in Zurich and begun work on the 4th European Athletics-UNESCO Young Leaders Forum, which runs through the 14th of August.
After checking in at the youth hostel hosting the Forum, the participants set up displays of their work, which they had prepared in the weeks prior to the event. They then took part in ‘ice-breaker’ activities organised by the Forum facilitators and formed small groups in which much of the discussion and practical work of the forum will take place.
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.
All participants are members of the Community who 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.
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.
Highlights of Monday’s programme will include a presentation and workshop, led by Sara Massini of ENGSO Youth (the youth section of the European Non-Governmental Sport Organisation), about funding opportunities for youth-led projects through the European Union.
Scheduled guest presenters include IAAF Vice President Lord Sebastian Coe, who will address the forum on 14 August.
After the daily working sessions, the Forum participants will attend the first three evening sessions of the European Athletics Championships in the Letzigrund Stadium.
“Seeing the mix of young people of so many nationalities who share a passion for athletics as they arrived today has been inspiring”, said Miikka Neuvonen also of ENGSO Youth, who is one of the Forum facilitators. “You can see they are ready to work hard, and I am really looking forward to the discussions we will have in the comming days.”
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 1900th member. The members have shared information about more than 250 local projects and have registered more than 53,000 hours of volunteer work.