European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros Capralos has awarded diplomas to each of the 22 European Young Olympic Ambassadors (EYOA) as the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Bakuriani 2025 draws to a close.
The eighth edition of the EYOA programme has seen the EYOF participants educated on the Olympic Values through a mixture of fun and informative initiatives in Bakuriani, Tbilisi and Batumi.
In Georgia, the programme has evolved to include new topics that will impact athletes as they navigate their careers, such as dual careers, social media preparation, sports integrity, sports manipulation and safeguarding.
Hundreds of the young athletes competing at Bakuriani 2025 have participated in and President Capralos was joined by EOC Vice President Daina Gudzinevičiūtė and Executive Committee Members Liney Halldorsdottir and Cristina Vasilianov.
President Capralos said: “Congratulations to each of our European Young Olympic Ambassadors for the work they have done this week, spreading the beauty of Olympism to our young athletes in a fun and engaging manner.
“The EYOA programme is a key part of our EYOFs, ensuring that competitors leave the Festival with a deeper understanding of the Olympic Values and the importance of respect and fair play at all times.
“The EOC Culture and Education Commission, led by Jean-Michel Brun, and the leader of the EYOA programme, Nataša Janković, do fantastic work in this regard, and I have witnessed first-hand the enjoyment that everyone involved gets from participating in the activities.
“It is an honour to present the 22 ambassadors with their diplomas, and we look forward to seeing many of them in Skopje later this year, where they will continue their important work.”
EYOA Programme Leader, Nataša Janković shared her thoughts for the programme: “Thanks to our partners from the IOC, ITA and BESST project we managed to upgrade our activities. In addition to Bakuriani, for the first time we had a Mobile Team of Ambassadors in Tbilisi and Batumi which was very much appreciated by athletes, and this is something that we will continue in the future.
“Ambassadors did amazing job, and we are very thankful for their creativity, enthusiasm and dedication. Together with Alumni and Commission Members they showed true Olympic spirit. Over 2000 hours have been spent to prepare and organize 20 activities during EYOF. In total, around 600 athletes took active part in our educational activities and we should all be proud of that.”
EYOA from Germany, Henning Kunkel said: “Overall it was great experience, especially connecting with athletes and other Ambassadors, doing activities together with them, but also creating cultural exchange between each other.”
EYOA Melanie Patricia Zech from Austria said:”Being in the Mobile Team was special. We visited both Tbilisi and Batumi. Athletes were very happy having us there and we manged to make some closer connection with them, involve them in our activities and bring them together”.
Eva Prato Luna is one of the EYOA alumni overseeing the ambassadors’ work in Georgia and she paid tribute to the welcoming nature of the 2025 cohort.
She said: “They’ve been great and really engaging with the athletes. Every time an athlete walks through the door, they grab them and make sure they have some fun, play some games and learn something new.”
The EYOA programme will continue at the Summer EYOF in Skopje, where 20 of the ambassadors who participated in Bakuriani will be joined by six more ambassadors to help educate the participating athletes.
