9th Conference off to a great start after the first day in Oslo
Today, EFDN had the pleasure to welcome more than 90 representatives from diverse European football clubs, foundations, leagues and organisations at the 9th EFDN Conference in Oslo, hosted by Vålerenga Fotbal.
The event includes a series of gatherings across the two days. Delegates include Everton in the Community, FC Barcelona Foundation, Chelsea FC, Aberdeen FC Community Trust, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, SV Werder Bremen, AEK Athens, Shakhtar Donetsk, Paris Saint Germain, 1. FSV Main 05, Aston Villa, Athletic Club Bilbao, Scort, FARE, CAFE, KAA Gent, Club Brugge, Feyenoord Rotterdam, PSV, Vitesse Arnhem, NEC Nijmegen, FC Schalke 04, Ferencvaros, Fulham FC and Legia Warsaw and many more.
Day one kicked off with a morning filled with engaging presentations and study visits to community programmes of Vålerenga Fotball.
In the morning, Lars Erik Eggen, head of the Valerenga Foundation, presented the four major projects of Valerenga Football and thereby the ways in which the club uses the power of football as a tool to change people’s lives.
The presentation was followed by a networking roundtable, which gave the representatives the opportunity to introduce themselves and their current CSR programmes. Additionally, they were provided with the opportunity to network with one another. The delegates participated in an in-depth discussion of programmes they wish to implement based on the topic groups; physical health, education, employability, mental health and social inclusion.
Afterwards, the conference attendees joined breakout sessions in which foundation or organisation coordinators and leaders shared their knowledge, perspectives and ideas.
Robert White, London Regional Coordinator of the Sporting Memory Network, facilitated a session in which he introduced the sporting memories programmes and the use of reminiscence and how a group might be formed.
Philip Duffy, CEO of Everton in the Community presented the Award winning ‘Imagine your Goals programme’ , which was introduced in 2008 and is a fitness programme that offers local people living with mental health issues an opportunity to talk about their problems and seek help and support in a familiar environment.
FC Schalke 04 was represented by Sebastian Buntkirchen, who introduced the FC Schalke 04 Foundation and gave an insight into how the club and its foundation provide opportunities for talent development.
Another highlight of the first day of the EFDN Conference was the presentation of Emma Sykes from the UEFA, who introduced the event attendees to the UEFA’s approach towards the development of Women’s Football.
In the Breakout Sessions II, Hubert Rovers, CEO of EFDN gave a presentation on how to develop your CSR strategy. Thereby, he provided in-depth information on the strategy and process of clubs and foundations developing community engagement strategies. Additionally, in the session, the recently published CSR Practitioner’s Guide was presented.
Tony Higgens from the FIFPro and his colleague Erlend Hanstveit from NISO concentrated on how clubs and foundations can engage with players in CSR work.
Galder Reguera, the representative of the Athletic Club Bilbao Foundation, spoke in detail about the goals and visions of the Foundation. He paid specific attention to the question, how the club can return to the society what it has received over the years.
The last presentation of the day was given by Jochen Kemmer from the organisation CAFE. He addressed the topic of the Disability Access Officer (DAO) who shall work towards year-on-year improvement in access and inclusion within the club.
The first day of the conference proved to be very enjoyable and informative and we are looking forward to the second day of the event, which promises to be just as inspiration.
