EFPM and EOC hands in hands for Fair-Play

The President of the European Fair Play Movement (EFPM), Philippe Housiaux, presented on January 28 in Udine, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia (FVG), the Fair-Play Awards of the 16th European Youth Olympic Festival to the occasion of the closing ceremony. This results from the agreement between EFPM and the President of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), Spyros Capralos, to promote Fair Play at EOC events. The EFPM Awards were awarded after the speeches by Mr. Massimiliano Fedriga, the President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Mr. Spyros Capralos and Mr. Philippe Housiaux.

For the EFPM, the awards are a recognition not only of a brilliant performance, but more fundamentally of the quality of the beautiful gestures with high added value which have enlightened the Life of Sport, is symbolic and completely contributes to maintaining the hope of a world of beautiful quality. These well-meaning and benevolent individuals set the example that anything is and is still possible and that sport and all that it represents becomes an engine of positive change.

The Fair-Play Selection Committee, made up of representatives from EFPM, EOC, the Italian Fair Play Committee and Panathlon International and FVG, has decided to award a Special Award and three Awards for this event.

Special Fair-Play Award: to “Team Ukraine: "In the spirit of the Olympic Truce, the committee considers the participation of the resilient Team Ukraine to be a strong symbol for forging peace and understanding among the youth generation”.

Fair – Play Awards to:

• “Fausto Pedergnana :“ his long-standing involvement with over 25 years as a volunteer at his curling club in Claut, teaching Paralympians and young athletes, found his significance to the EYOF as he was the venue responsible for the Claut rink.
• “Eni Metaj :” Volunteered in her role as EOC Ambassador of the Albanian Olympic Committee. Her readiness and enthusiasm to support participating delegations represents the true spirit of young volunteers about sporting events as a learning experience.
• “Roberto Bruno:” for continuing his involvement in the service of the local population after his career as a policeman, as a driver for the event taking care of all the needs of the athletes”.

The EFPM President, Philippe Housiaux, in his speech addressed the youth participants “: Your journey to becoming a successful leader and building your sporting career will be made up of many more competitions, but one thing will remain the same, it is the sporting and Olympic values that you will continue to embed. I therefore encourage you to continue to apply sporting values and a Fair Play attitude for the rest of your life in any activity that is part of your daily behavior. Without strong values and without clear objectives, we cannot build truly peaceful societies, this is the meaning of the Olympic events”.

See you in Maribor, Slovenia, from July 23rd to 29th, 2023

for the next summer edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival – EOC

31.01.2023