In a special statement, Executive Director Alberto Bichi underlines the efforts of the European Platform for Sport to promote sport in our Continent, in particular in this difficult period.
After the 2020 summer break and while the world pandemic continues to affect our lives in a totally unpredictable manner, EPSI is determined to continue pushing for the relevance of sport in our societies. Unfortunately we are far from reaching our goal, that’s why we are promoting a series of new activities and initiatives that are starting since the month of September.
In this respect, while we have committed to proactively contribute to Commissioner Gabriel’s consultation on the effects of COVID-19 for our sector, and whereas we are embracing, as strategic partner, the #BeActive European Week of Sport coming up soon during the third week of September, we are ready to continue delivering added value for all our members and partners.
This European Week of Sport period will represent a good opportunity to organise non-physical meetings; after the success of the “Irish Webinar”, we are launching two other similar business-oriented online events for Finnish and Italian Organisations, where all interested stakeholders are invited to join. Moreover, the EPSI Brokerage Event – that was originally supposed to take place physically in Germany with our partners of EPoSS – will take place digitally next 29-30 September.
Apart from these ad-hoc innovative activities we will continue delivering in our regular three services chapters:
EPSI: Lobbying and Education
- With the creation of the Sport Academy which will bring an additional layer to our EPSI services;
- With the revision of our Strategic research and innovation agenda which represents the basis for our lobbying activity.
EPSI: Fundraising
- With the launching of a pipeline of new projects such as the one we are presently working on related to the “Smart Stadium” for example;
- With the evaluation of the 25 already presented project concept notes which were submitted last spring.
EPSI: Business Creation
- With the launch of the “EU network of innovation hubs for sport and vitality” which will follow a bottom up approach, linked to existing Sport&vitality clusters gathered within EPSI and which will be aimed at the creation of new start ups / scale ups and SMEs in the field of sport, focused on a public / private investment and based on market needs.
Of course, these are just few of the very tangible examples EPSI focuses on, but we wish to continue even further and we will therefore keep on capitalising from all our members’ “Strategic conversations” so as to hear, engage, propose and ultimately solve our members inquiries and issues and so as to advance the entire European sport sector.
Alberto Bichi – EPSI Executive Director