The 16th Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport of the Council of Europe, organised in line with the activities of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), has adopted two resolutions :
1) A European approach to sport policies: the revision of the European Sports Charter
The Ministers stressed that the revised text should facilitate access to sports for all layers of society, inter alia through investing in infrastructures for the practice of physical activity at the grassroots level, both inside and outside school settings. They also encouraged member States to develop national sports strategies, as well as exchange best practices and experiences.
2) Human rights in sport
Considering the importance of a human rights-based approach while addressing sport integrity issues such as safety, security and service at sports events, combatting doping and the manipulation of sports competitions, the Ministers encouraged member States to further enhance the protection and promotion of human rights in this field, as well as to promote sport and its many social and individual benefits to strengthen society’s resilience to global crises.
The session was chaired by Lefteris Avgenakis, Deputy Minister of Culture and Sport, Greece. Closing speeches were delivered by Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni and Niels Nygaard, Acting President of the European Olympic Committees. The next Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport will take place in Turkey (date to be confirmed).
The closing session concluded the five different parts of the event spread out over a period of several weeks (see the Agenda and the videos from previous sessions).
Speech by Lefteris Avgenakis, Deputy Minister of Culture and Sport, Greece (in Greek)
Speech by Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni
Speech by Niels Nygaard, Acting President of the European Olympic Committees
