Tuesday , 19 March 2024


The President of the European Olympic Committees in the Hellenic Parliament

HOC President Spyros Capralos was an official guest at the meeting of the Migration Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in the Senate chamber of the House.
Mr. Capralos, in his capacity as President of the European Olympic Committees, spoke to the members of the Committee who traveled to Greece about this meeting, about social integration through sports, immigrants, refugees and all socially excluded people.
The HOC President first presented the actions for refugees undertaken by the Hellenic Olympic Committee:
Through the two programs funded by the European Union "Kids love sports" and "Together in Sport" since June 2021, 7,550 children, of whom 53% are refugees, have participated in joint regular sports activities and extraordinary events, which take place in municipal sports facilities, sports clubs and refugee accommodation facilities, in various locations in Greece, such as Athens, Ioannina, Kavala, Drama and Lesvos.
Also, 2,300 refugee children visited the Panathenaic Stadium, learned its history and had the opportunity to play sports. 300 refugee children learned judo, taekwondo and football in selected refugee accommodation facilities in the Attica region. Over 2,900 refugee children, including unaccompanied minors, have participated in regular sports activities and extraordinary events in both team and individual sports.
To date, sports equipment with a total value of 40,000.00 euros has been provided to municipal sports facilities and refugee accommodation centers.
Τέλος, δημιουργήθηκαν συνέργειες με κρατικούς παράγοντες, με σημαντικότερο το Ελληνικό Υπουργείο Μετανάστευσης & Ασύλου, δήμους, τον Διεθνή Οργανισμό Μετανάστευσης (ΔΟΜ), ΜΚΟ, πολλά ακαδημαϊκά ιδρύματα και αθλητικούς συλλόγους.
Also, President Capralos presented the key role played by the National Olympic Committees (HOC) of Europe in supporting the Refugee Olympic Team, stating that "21 of the 29 refugee athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were hosted by European Committees". He also referred to the assistance provided by the European Olympic Committees to the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, where, among other things, he stressed: "A solidarity fund was created by the IOC, Olympic Solidarity and the European Olympic Committees, as well as a small working group headed by the President of the Olympic Committee of Ukraine Sergei Bubka. Initially, $ 2 million was allocated. The European Olympic Committees donated $500,000 to the fund in April to support athletes, coaches and their families. The participation expenses of the 46 Ukrainian athletes, in the European Youth Olympic Festival Banská Bystrica 2022 were paid by the solidarity fund with the contribution of the HOC".
Among the key issues discussed at the meeting were European solidarity in the context of migration and asylum, the integration of migrants and refugees and the benefits for all parties involved and the contribution of the Council of Europe to the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration of refugees.

Πηγή – ΕΟΕ

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