The 50 NOCs of Europe will gather for the 40^th EOC Seminar in Vienna, Austria on 18-19 May.

Topics will remain those of utmost importance to the European National Olympic Committees and sport in general around our continent, but the discussions will be held in a much livelier and more interactive atmosphere.

To avoid a one-way information flow, the gathering will include panel discussions on a range of important themes: the European Model of Sport and its Value for Civil Society and Social Integration; Working Towards a Gender Balanced Future; High Performance and New Technologies in European Sport; the Future of Commercialisation in Sport; and the Growth of Urban Sports – Opportunity and Innovation.

The list of speakers will include global sports leaders, as well as high-ranking professors from the most important European Universities, who will give different insights on the subjects.

In keeping with the commitment to gender equality in sport, there will be an unparalleled group of female sports administrators, including IOC Executive Board Member/ANOC Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg and IOC Member/EOC Executive Committee Member and President of the NOC of Lithuania Daina Gudzinevičiūtė.

Other notable speakers include ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti and Sport Accord/GAISF President Raffaele Chiulli, while the International Olympic Committee will also be represented by Pere Miró, IOC Deputy Director General for Relations with the Olympic Movement; James Macleod, IOC Director of the NOC Relations Department and Olympic Solidarity; and IOC Legal Director Anne van Ysendyck.

Q&A sessions will then add even greater value to the seminar, allowing people from the audience to interact with speakers and to analyse more in depth topics of their interest.

Also on the agenda is an EOC Executive Committee meeting on 17 May, while the award ceremony for the Piotr Nurowski Best European Young Winter Athlete will be held at a Gala Dinner on 18 may.