At the occasion of the 2016 European Week of Sport (EWoS), the National Olympic Committee of Lithuania hosted from 9 to 11 September the team of the Erasmus + co-funded project “Sport for Everyone” in Vilnius. The aim of the project is to encourage National Olympic Committees to share best practices in promoting grassroots sports and getting involved in the European Week of Sport.

After greetings from local NOC President Daina Gudzineviciute, the representatives from the 4 partner NOCs (France, Italy, Portugal and the Republic of Macedonia), and of the Sport and Citizenship think tank, worked on the content of the Handbook for joining the EWoS.

Since July 2015, the project team has been exchanging experience linked to the 4 Focus Days of the EWoS (Workplace, Education, Outdoors & Fitness). The team selected a varied and rich panel of good practices in the 4 fields mentioned above – which will be compiled in the Handbook – so as to provide the sport movement with inspirational ideas to make people be more physically active in their own country. In addition to good practices, a methodological guidebook – named “how to join the EWoS in 8 steps” – is included in the Handbook to help sport organisations build their own event step by step.

The Seminar was also the occasion to get into the #BeActive spirit of the 2nd edition of the Week. The Lithuanian national coordinator of the EWoS, the Sport for All Association, presented a range of events, including a run for children during the Vilnius marathon and the municipalities’ games. As the city of Trakai located close to Vilnius is a vibrant outdoor setting to practice sport, the participants were also eager to make their own run under the #BeActive banner on Saturday the 10th. The Seminar ended on Sunday 11 with the attendance at the Vilnius marathon start.

The draft Handbook for joining the EWoS will be presented in Brussels at the end of November 2016, during the Closing Seminar that will be held alongside the Special Competence Seminar of the European Olympic Committees. The English online version will be then available in early December 2016 on the website of the project “Sport4Everyone”.