EYSF (European Youth and Sport Forum)
 |
| The group at European Youth and Sport Forum |
I was lucky enough to be the only Maltese citizen among the 110 participants from European member and applicant states chosen to attend the EYSF (European Youth and Sport Forum) for the year 2005 organized by ISCA (International Social and Cultural Association). The forum was held in Stoke Mandeville, outskirts of London from the 19th till the 24th of November. The main theme of this forum was 'building a culture of volunteering and active citizenship throughout Europe'. The forum had three basic areas of discussion:
- Volunteering and active citizenship,
- Combating discrimination through sport, and
- Health and sport
 |
| Edmond addressing the forum |
The output of these areas would then be compiled into a declaration that was then presented to the UK sports minister, who in turn presented the declaration and recommendations at a European Presidency level. My main interest from these topics was the volunteering and active citizenship section, where I tried to contribute with my views upon citizen volunteering as well as learn from others how different countries approach this subject. I was, in fact, lucky to be chosen as the editor for the final version of this subsection of the declaration. From the discussion (and sometimes debate!) it was concluded that volunteering teaches responsibility, leadership skills, tolerance, and democratic values. Volunteering also is a good means to combat social problems by channeling youth's energy to a positive use. There was a general agreement among all participants that the volunteer needs to be given more recognition and respect. It also emerged from the discussions that the government should promote volunteering within its citizens since they represent a low investment with a big effect. Funding for volunteer NGOs was also raised in the discussion. The full declaration can be viewed from ISCA's webpage at:
www.isca-web.org/declaration-eysf2005.pdf
Overall, I consider my attendance to the EYSF as a very positive experience, and I have to admit that I was impressed upon how different cultures can leave behind those discriminatory differences and work together to achieve a common objective. I would also like to thank those that gave me this opportunity as well as the organizers of the activity who worked thoroughly to ensure that the whole event ran seamlessly and successfully.
Back to Archives
Back to top
Back to News
