The project has been launched by the EOC Culture and Legacy Commission, chaired by Finnish NOC Vice president Susanna Rahkamo, to support the young athletes participating in the European Youth Olympic Festival events. The first education programme for Young Ambassadors focused on the recent 2017 Winter EYOF.

We are pleased to publish an article by Maksim Berdnikov, Young Ambassador of the Russian national youth Olympic team, who acted as one of the first young ambassadors.

“For the first time the EYOF has seen the educational program ‘Young Ambassadors’ developed by the EOC Commission of Culture and Legacy. Strong enthusiastic support came from young activists all around Europe who were delegated by their respective National Olympic Committees.

The program started in November 2016 when all ambassadors prepared a short video introduction about their personal achievements just to get the communication started. People with various backgrounds and roles in sport expressed firm interest in leading their national teams and strengthening international friendship. In the following weeks several educational materials were carefully studied in order to stress the main points in the history of the Olympic movement and effectively communicate Olympic values to young athletes. The preparation period lasted for four months and saw regular online meetings until 13 ambassadors finally talked face-to-face in Erzurum on February 11.

The ambassadors were helpful in different areas including the travel of national teams to the EYOF and organization of entertainment activities. All ambassadors found their own communication platforms to share and promote Olympic ideals among athletes as well as to quickly provide help in any situation. 24 hours a day they were ready to be a close family member to their elder friends and help them to set up ties in the international community. Together with athletes the ambassadors went to different competitions and visited magnificent sporting venues in order to be the first ones to congratulate young stars on their professional achievements and capture the unique moments of true joy and satisfaction. A lot of stories came directly from different sites around Erzurum and were published on personal pages of the national teams in social media. The ambassadors assisted athletes with taking the advantage of the mobile application which contained a lot of interesting facts about the sphere they all live in.

Elena Kucheva, Russian gold medalist in cross-country skiing, remarked that she ‘loved the friendly atmosphere a lot. Thanks to the provided support she did not feel stressful at all but enjoyed that friendly environment.’ Marina Doronina, mother of Russian gold medalist in curling German Doronin, said ‘It was so cool that this time I was able to communicate with my son through the ambassador. Parents indeed had a good chance to stay as close to their children as never before.’

2017 Winter Erzurum has become a remarkable point in the professional and personal life of young athletes. The ambassadors feel happy to have become part of athletes’ first Olympic experience and made a contribution to the development of the Olympic movement. Erzurum will be remembered for hosting spectacular competitions and giving a birth to this unique tradition of EYOF Young Ambassadors.”

Photo –  Maxim, the author, with EYOF (first from left) with young participants in Erzurum