Looking to the Future at the Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Leadership Conference 2024

The Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Regional Leadership Conference, hosted by Special Olympics Germany and supported by the German Ministry for the Interior and Community, Sports Metropolis Berlin, Toyota Motor Europe and Lions Clubs International Foundation, took place in Berlin on 15 and 16 October. It gathered 200 Special Olympics athletes, Athlete Leaders, National Programme Directors, Sports Advisors and more from 44 countries across the region to the German capital. The varied agenda was devised to ensure an athlete-led approach and maximum engagement with a focus on using facilitated roundtable discussions to interrogate the challenges that our National Programmes and region face. Topics included: athlete, coach and volunteer retention and recruitment, partner engagement, engaging media. A highlight session was an athlete-led panel discussion, emceed by Ian Harper of Special Olympics Great Britain, in which five Athlete Leaders laid out their vision for the future of the movement in our region and fielded questions from the conference participants. Feedback on the format and approach from Special Olympics Programmes was immensely positive. For example, Special Olympics Gibraltar commented, "Definitely a very powerful Leadership Conference—great speakers, interactive, and a wonderful cross section of Athlete Leaders including Athlete Council Chairperson, whose voices have so much power."