Discover a few of the speakers at the 18th EFDN #Morethanfootball Conference

Discover a few of the speakers at the 18th EFDN #Morethanfootball Conference

The European Football for Development Network (EFDN) will host its 18th EFDN Conference from the 14th until the 16th of November 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. The topic of this EFDN Conference will be “Sustainability and Human Rights”, which will take place at the Groupama Arena, the stadium of EFDN Member Ferenvárosi TC.

EFDN Conferences bring a unique opportunity for CSR experts and newcomers into the CSR world to learn from each other and share their insights about topics such as fundraising in CSR, environmental sustainability, anti-discrimination, social inclusion, online safeguarding, physical activity in younger and older population, or STEM education, among others. The format of the conference includes panels, breakout sessions, study visits and roundtables, and offers multiple chances to network and connect with other EFDN members and experts in the CSR in football.

This news article will give you an impression of some more of the knowledgeable and competent speakers in the fields of sustainability and human rights within football who we have contacted to share their expertise with you:

Lin Wilson, consultant at Upshot, is a confirmed speaker at our 18th EFDN #Morethanfootball Conference in Budapest from the 14th until the 16th of November 2022.

Previously a voluntary youth football coach, charity worker, Learning & Development co-ordinator and European Marketing Manager for large IT companies. At Upshot, Lin now helps football clubs and organisations, charities, youth clubs and many other non-profits with their monitoring & evaluation needs. Lin has worked with EFDN and members for 2+ years, supporting clubs to use Upshot and other tools for collection of data for reporting on various EFDN programmes including Scoring for Health, Show Racism the Red Card and Welcome through Football. Member of Women in Football.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) has become a very hot topic and many organisations are taking tangible steps to improve their EDI processes. But how do we know if we are moving the dial to make long-term sustainable change? In this breakout session we will look at how we can collect data – and what is the right data, how we can address the challenges to this and why it is important to approach EDI with ‘intentionality’.

Sean McCabe, climate justice officer at Bohemian Football Club, is a confirmed speaker at our 18th EFDN #Morethanfootball Conference in Budapest from the 14th until the 16th of November 2022.

Seán works as Climate Justice Officer at Bohemian Football Club and his goals with the club are to bring people-centred climate action into football. He also serves as Exectuative Manager of the TASC Climate Justice Centre where he works at both the community level and the international level. Seán previously spent 6 years with the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice. During this time he engaged with the international negotiations leading to the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He published a report “The People’s Transition: Community-led Development for Climate Justice” in November 2020 which is now being implemented in several communities in Ireland, including Phibsborough, home of Bohemian F.C.

Sean will be leading a panel that will bring together Community Wealth Building experts and EFDN members to explore how elements of this inclusive economic model might be adopted by football clubs looking to undertake climate action that empowers local communities.

As the climate crisis deepens, football clubs have a unique opportunity to mobilise millions of fans around and bring new communities into the fight against climate change. However, as inequality deepens and fans around Europe struggle in the face of a cost-of-living crisis, it will be important that any climate action seeks to improve, rather than burden, those communities furthest behind.

Magdalena Pelczynska-Korzun, operations director at Legia Foundation, is a confirmed speaker at our 18th EFDN #Morethanfootball Conference in Budapest from the 14th until the 16th of November 2022.

A graduate of the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw. Personal image expert and executive producer with over fifteen years of experience in public relations, creation, and event production. She started her professional career as a Project Manager, then as operational director for the Mercer’s Coffee chain, from where she moved to Wedel taking the Development Director role.
 
Later during her adventure in public relations and marketing, she was involved in the image creation of among others, Samsung, Adidas, Reebok, Microsoft Polska, and PL2012 (responsible for the National Stadium). Producer of multiple businesses, sports, and cultural events, both in Poland and abroad. She has solid experience in mass events and large-scale city projects such as the Orange Warsaw Festival, Lato Konesera, and “Plac Defilad” made in cooperation with the Capital City of Warsaw.
She has been working with Legia since 2015, where, as the Operational Director, she co-founded the Legia Foundation.

During the presentation, Magdalena will briefly showcase Legia Foundation general approach and way of operating also take into account cultural specificities and contexts for the communities gathered around Legia Warsaw. She will distinguish some of their projects and focus on presenting the Ready To Help initiative as a response for social needs which may arise as a result of world catastrophes or unforeseen events. Last but not least, she will present the importance of different partnerships in our everyday’s work.

Olivier Smith, Deputy Head of Unit – Sport at the European Commission, is a confirmed speaker at our 18th EFDN #Morethanfootball Conference in Budapest from the 14th until the 16th of November 2022.

Olivier is the deputy head of the sports unit at the European Commission, focusing on promoting the role of sport in the EU for people, the community and the economy. Olivier has been at the Commission for 10 years, working on energy, environment and oceans policies, as well as being a speechwriter. Prior to joining the Commission, Olivier worked in the sports and physical activity sector in the United Kingdom. 

The presentation will cover the general strategy, aims and opportunities in Erasmus+ and EU sport policy. It will also cover the HealthyLifestyle4All initative and the pledges made to increase awareness on healthy lifestyles across generations and improve access to sport and physical activity for all.