ISCA Europe Report 2021-2023

ISCA Europe report 2021-2023 This report describes ISCAs external relations to inter-governmental entities with relevance for ISCA and its European based members. It is prepared by ISCA President Mogens Kirkeby and ISCA Secretary General Jacob Schouenborg European Union We interact and collaborate with the European Parliament, the European Commission and the rotating Presidencies of the European Council. ISCA has regular contact to relevant Members of the European Parliament (MEP) and we coorganise events together with MEPs. The European Parliament has supported the priority on grassroots sport in the EU sport programs since it was first established. This overall priority is very important to keep most political and financial attention to grassroots sport participation, the civil society of sport organisations and the usage of sport to create inclusive and healthy opportunities and environments for European citizens. We will continue to connect with MEPs directly and together with European based ISCA members. In June 2022 we organized the policy and coalition-building event, “European Action for a Healthy Lifestyle4All” where +50 stakeholders having healthy lifestyle high on their agendas participated. The event was organized together with the partners JOGG/YHC and Schuttelaar & Partners and generously hosted by MEP host Tomasz Frankowski (EPP, Poland). More information here: https://www.isca.org/HealthyLifestyle4All ISCA contributes to events organized by the European Commission Sport Unit and we as well offer the Sport Unit and the Directorate Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC) to present at ISCA congresses and events. ISCA members are coordinating and partners in several EU co-funded projects and it its therefore also natural that we contribute to nominate candidates to the #BeActive Awards. We are happy to see that several ISCA members and ISCA partners are shortlisted and as well as #BeActive Awards winners. We regularly connect to the rotating EU Presidencies of the European Council to generate synergies between ISCA and relevant presidency priorities. This is also the case for the MOVE Congress 2023. The Council of Europe 41 European member states have joined the sport collaboration within the Council of Europe called EPAS (Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport). A Consultative Committee consisting of up to 30 organisations is established to give opinions and recommendation to the collaborating member states. ISCA is member of the Consultative Committee and ISCA President has served as Vice President for the Bureau of the Consultative Committee the last two years. ISCA contributes actively to the initiatives of EPAS and is regularly invited to speak at conferences and events. For example at the 17th Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport in Türkiyem, October 2022, where the ISCA President was asked to give a presentation of our work on Integration of Refugees Through Sport. WHO Europe and HEPA Europe ISCA has a longstanding cooperation with WHO Europe. Since we in 2015 gave input to the first physical activity strategy for the WHO European Region 2016-2025, we have been collaborating with WHO Europe, having its headquarter in Copenhagen. We support the initiatives on the theme of Health Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) and we do take actively part in the HEPA Europe Conferences in Nice, France (2022) and Leuven, Belgium (2023). In October 2023, ISCA was granted the status of a non-state actor to attend meetings of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, and joined the 2023 event in Astana, Kazakhstan.