Child safeguarding in sport is one of the priorities of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), implemented in particular in the framework of the Start to Talk project.

EPAS organised its first child consultation session in collaboration with the Child Council of the Bulgarian State Agency for Child Protection. The event took place on 30 May 2023 and brought together young people (between 15 and 17 years of age) to gather their ideas on how to implement more efficient child safeguarding policies in sport in Bulgaria. The consultation was facilitated by Petya Dimitrova, a child protection expert. Dr Melanie Lang, a child participation expert, was involved in the process with an advisory role.

The Start to Talk project is currently supporting the Bulgarian Ministry of Youth and Sport in the development of a roadmap for the implementation of child safeguarding policies in sport, including concrete steps to set up Child Safeguarding Officer (CSO) roles.

Involving children and young people in decision-making is a fundamental step towards achieving children’s legal rights, as well as democratising sport and creating a safe sport environment. Sport has not always had a strong track record in listening to children, but the Council of Europe wants to change this through initiatives such as this one.

• Start to Talk project
• Child Council of the Bulgarian State Agency for Child Protection (website only available in Bulgarian)
• Council of Europe’s work and tools on child participation