Athens conference on sport focuses on inclusion and good governance

The President of the Hellenic Parliament, Constantine An. Tassoulas, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, and Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General, Bjørn Berge, have opened a two-day Conference on promoting safety, integrity, equality and inclusion in sportin Athens, Greece. The event, on 4 and 5 November, was jointly organised by the Hellenic Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The conference brought together parliamentarians and policymakers, athletes, sporting organisations and experts to discuss promoting safety, integrity, equality and inclusion in sport. It also featured the launch of a Parliamentary Alliance for Good Governance and Integrity in Sport. Alongside the work of the Parliamentary Assembly itself, this will help to uphold the role of national parliaments in the design and implementation of policies that enhance the governance and integrity of sport.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge said: "Values-based sport is in all our interests. By working together, and bringing national parliaments closer to all our work, we can expand its reach and inspire new ideas that are needed to tackle ongoing challenges in the sport world."

He also highlighted the range of major tools developed by the organisation, including the Anti-doping Convention, the Saint-Denis Convention - which ensures that sports events maintain safety for those who participate and attend - and the Macolin Convention - which brings public authorities together with sports organisations, competition organisers, and betting companies to detect and punish those seeking to manipulate sports competitions.

The opening included a special award ceremony for Greek Olympic and Paralympic Champions.

Alternate Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Ioannis Vroutsis, took the opportunity to highlight the efforts made in Europe, and in Greece in particular, to

support the inclusion in sports of people with disabilities.

"I'm extremely proud to welcome a huge project of major importance for the paralympic movement: the construction of the first paralympic sports venue in Athens. We have been ranking close to the bottom for many years, but now we have more than one hundred municipalities participating in this important project", Mr Vroutis stressed. Nowadays, he added, "we are looking into stablishing a culture that will not only broaden the appeal of sports, but that also brings down the cost, which will allow sports to become an integral part of our citizens well-being".

Speech by Deputy Secretary General