The 26 European Youth Olympic Ambassadors (EYOA) and 6 Alumni were awarded medals for their fantastic work at the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival at a ceremony on Thursday, 26 January 2023.

European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros Capralos, Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi and Chair of the EOC Culture of Education Commission Jean Michel Brun were among the Executive Committee members on hand to present them on day five of Friuli Venezia Giulia 2023.

The ambassadors have spent the week putting on numerous educational and fun activities for the young athletes to take part in when they are not competing, as they look to instil Olympism and the values of the Olympic Movement in the next generation.

Earlier in the week, President Capralos hailed them for their efforts and for carrying on the strong work from the previous editions of the EYOA programme. Now he praised those responsible for organising the sixth edition, with this group of ambassadors also preparing for the Summer EYOF in Maribor, Slovenia this July.

President Capralos said: “I must applaud Vice Chair of the EOC Culture of Education Commission Clea Papaellina and project leader Natasa Jankovic for the fantastic job they have done to ensure that our ambassadors have had the best experience as part of the sixth edition of this important programme.

“I witnessed first-hand on Tuesday the great work being done by the group at their booth at Casa Italia this week and have been impressed by not only the activities that they organised, but at how impressive the young men and women are when you interact with them.”

After the ceremony, the President announced that the 26 ambassadors would be placed into a draw with the winner earning the opportunity to work with the EOC office for five days at the European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023 this summer.

Project leader Natasa Jankovic said: “It has been a pleasure to get to know the 26 ambassadors and Alumni since they were selected to be part of the sixth addition of the EYOA programme. All of them have excelled in their roles and I have no doubt that the young athletes who have taken part in the activities organised by the group will go home more educated on Olympic Values than they were when they arrived in Friuli Venezia Giulia.”