This week’s conference hosted by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union ‘Can sport diplomacy contribute to building a stronger Europe in the world?’ has as one of its objectives to showcase ISCA’s unique concept of Grassroots Sport Diplomacy. ISCA Secretary General Jacob Schouenborg and Head of Projects Saska Benedicic Tomat will present the concept in the 3rd session, and ISCA President Mogens Kirkeby will join Towards an EU Sport Diplomacy (TES-D) partner J Simon Rofe in the 4th session ‘Sport as an instrument in EU development policy’ on Friday 4 June.

The conference is being held in Lisbon, Portugal, and registration is still open to participate remotely on 3-4 June.

The hybrid event aims to gather “representatives of Member States, experts and key players in the field of sports diplomacy to discuss the role of sport in the context of the EU's external relations, especially in promoting European values, human rights, peace, and contributing to human development, breaking down cultural barriers and promoting the cross-sectoral dimension of sport”.

Thursday’s session ‘Sport Diplomacy in the context of EU external relations’ includes Grassroots Sport Diplomacy partner and TES-D project lead Carole Gomez from IRIS in France and MOVE Congress 2019 presenter Richard Parrish from Edge Hill University in the UK.

On Friday ISCA will launch the Portuguese language version of its Grassroots Sport Diplomacy online learning course, which is also available in English and will be launched in Spanish later this year.

The Portuguese Presidency aims to draw attention to the potential of sports diplomacy from the grassroots to elite sport and highlight in particular how European citizens can be influential actors when it comes to diplomatic relations across borders through sport and physical activities.

Sign up to join the conference online and read the full programme here.