“Exciting new projects for Sport and Citizenship!”

With the start of the new school year, Sport and Citizenship is stepping up its social-impact and eco-responsibility activities. Five new projects submitted by the Think Tank to Erasmus+ Sport calls for projects were selected by the European Commission. One of these was the “Ocean Sustainability through Education and Sport – OSES” project, which Laurent Thieule, President of Sport and Citizenship, reveals here.

This revue is looking at sport’s possible contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a lot of attention on combating climate change. How does this subject fit into the Think Tank’s current preoccupations?

LT: The summer we’ve just experienced shows how urgent the situation is. The effects of climate change are increasingly visible and have finally made public opinion aware of the problem. The moderation in energy use demanded by our governments requires all of us to reduce our energy consumption and change our behaviour. Sport is, of course, concerned. The articles in this revue show the challenges and also suggest solutions. I am thinking of the interview with the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius. These are not new concerns for our organisation, which has been active on environmental questions for over 10 years. But it is time to step up our activities in this area, alongside the individuals and businesses waiting for a response. This is where OSES comes in. It is a project devised by our Think Tank and nine European partners which aims to provide those involved in water sports with educational resources about sport and sustainable development. The project was selected by the European Commission and will receive funding for the next three years. We are very pleased and proud!

What exactly will this project do?

LT: Preserving the seas and oceans is a major part of sustainable development, and they are a living playground for doing sport. With our partners we will be developing tools for water-sport federations and local sport stakeholders, with the aim of educating young people about eco-responsible behaviour and thus helping to develop environmental awareness from a very young age. OSES is based on three objectives:

• To evaluate the experience of sport organisations involved in creating and implementing awareness-raising campaigns and educational methodologies.
• To develop an educational methodology for raising awareness about the environment at the local level.
• To measure the social and environmental impact of the project.

The project will develop around four pilot interventions in four different countries. In this way, we will obtain concrete, measurable, identifiable results. The project will start in January 2023, for three years.

In addition to OSES, Sport and Citizenship will be a partner in four other projects, two of which include environmental aspects: GREEN TEAM and CITY GREEN GO. The first will encourage the organisation of sustainable, inclusive sport events by putting the accent on cooperation between local actors. The second will encourage people to lead an eco-friendly life, relying on the urban environment.

This is clear proof that Sport and Citizenship has become a leading actor at the European level and with numerous European sporting and political organisations.