25 June 2001

Tallinn, Estonia/Bonn, Germany: Scores of volunteers who make sports possible across Europe will discuss trends and challenges in sports volunteering at the 15th European Sports Conference in Tallinn, Estonia, which will be held on 27 and 28 June. Representatives from 27 countries will take part in the event, which comes half way through the UN-declared International Year of Volunteers (IYV 2001). Media representatives are invited.

Across Europe there are over seven million people who volunteer for sports. According to United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Executive Coordinator Sharon Capeling-Alakija, who will open the conference, volunteers are an "effective asset" in the organization of sporting events in every corner of the planet. "But their input does not stop at the performance of tasks, or the provision of services; it extends to the creation of the cultural and social conditions for sports and other community movements to thrive," she said. "It extends to the development of partnerships and social networks that are key to the growth and welfare of societies".

Ms. Capeling-Alakija noted that within then the context of IYV 2001, "we should pay tribute to the irreplaceable role of volunteers in fostering sportsmanship, nurturing the development of athletes and strengthening communities" and "recognize sports volunteerism as a movement of tremendous significance within the context of global volunteering".

Participants in the conference represent the International Olympic Committee, the Council of Europe, national governments and local authorities, national sports associations, international sports federations, non-governmental organizations and sporting events organizing committees.

European Sports Conferences have been held every two years since 1973.