Speaker update for the 16th EFDN Conference in Breda

Speaker update for the 16th EFDN Conference in Breda

The European Football for Development Network (EFDN) will host its 16th EFDN ‘Purpose and Sustainability’ Conference as a hybrid event from 8-10 November 2021 in the Rat Verlegh Stadium of NAC Breda, the Netherlands. So far, more than 150 representatives from 50 different football clubs, leagues, and national football associations of 17 European countries subscribed for the congress.

This conference is the perfect platform for organisations of all shapes and sizes to share ideas and develop new concepts. EFDN is excited to meet its members and partners again in person at the largest gathering of Community and Social Responsibility (CSR) experts in European professional football. Participants at the 16th EFDN Conference will discuss challenges occasioned by COVID-19 and share best practices on CSR strategies, fundraising, sustainability, women’s football, anti-discrimination, social inclusion, online safeguarding, physical activity and STEM education. It will be an excellent occasion for your organisation to join these experts and broaden your network on CSR in football.

This news article will give you an impression of some more of the knowledgeable and competent speakers in the fields of inclusive telepresence, the ‘Integration of the Turkish community in Twente’, the power of football to integrate, and sustainable stadia we have contacted to share their expertise with you:

Bas Schreurs – FC Twente

Bas Schreurs, CSR Manager at FC Twente is the next confirmed speaker at our 16th EFDN Conference in Breda on 9 & 10 November 2021. 

Bas Schreurs is educated in Public & Business Administration. Additionally, he has completed a Master in Sports Policy and Sports Management (University of Utrecht), Management Professional Football (Dutch Football Association – KNVB) and Football Social Responsibility (UEFA). He has 10 years of work experience in business, government and civil society, all related to sport. He has gained the largest part of this experience during his time at FC Twente, where he worked in the football department, ticketing and as Head of CSR at the club.

Bas Schreurs will be presenting on the topic of the shortlisted “Integration of the Turkish community in Twente” project which is shortlisted for the 2021 #Morethanfootball Award. The shortlisted project follows an integrated approach: we focus on families, not individuals. Successfully integrated Turkish Dutch citizens play a key role and act as role models for their own community in the Netherlands. With this project, FC Twente shows that it is deeply embedded in the region and is able to cooperate with the Turkish community to open doors that normally remained closed, to support isolated immigrants and offer solutions to reduce problems. Examples of these are language deficiencies and social exclusion in people’s daily lives. The way we did this was by carefully listening to people, opening doors, and constructively working together while diminishing bureaucracy.

Salim Azouzi – Awabot

Salim Azouzi, Strategic Relations Director at Awabot is the next confirmed speaker at our 16th EFDN Conference in Breda on 9 & 10 November 2021. 

Pioneer in telepresence, Awabot is a French company whose mission is to deploy robotic solutions that integrate naturally with humans and at the heart of their daily lives. Since 2011, its action is to promote inclusion by providing social link through mobile telepresence robots, aiming to break the isolation and boost user recovery. Today, more than 1500 devices are deployed in companies, schools and also made available for prevented and hospitalized users in collaboration with charity organisations and foundations.

Salim Azouzi will be presenting on the topic of Providing Social Links thanks to Inclusive Telepresence. Awabot S.M.I.L.E (Social Machine for Inclusion in Life and Education) is an inclusive telepresence device aiming to break the isolation and boost user recovery thanks to the social link. Discover how EFDN but also FC Barcelona Foundation, PSG Foundation, UEFA Foundation for Children, French Football Federation and many others major football institutions are using it to provide ill children and young people with the opportunity to become the FAN of the Match from a distance.

Gary Robinson and David Dunwell – Blackburn Rovers Community Trust

Gary Robinson, CEO of Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and David Dunwell, Deputy CEO of Blackburn Rovers Community Trust are the next confirmed speakers at our 16th EFDN Conference in Breda on 9 & 10 November 2021. 

Gary Robinson (CEO) has been working in football for 17 years, working at two professional football clubs (Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers) and heading up these respective community schemes for a cumulative total of over 12 years. Following the clubs relegation from the Premier League, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust was losing significant amounts of money and in January 2013 Gary was therefore brought in to help stem the flow and develop the organisation. Eight years later, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust has more than tripled in scale and continues to increase its impact on the local community.

David Dunwell (Deputy CEO) has been working in football since late 2013, undertaking an 18 month role within Basketball before returning to Blackburn Rovers in 2020. David initially started as a volunteer and has worked his way through the ranks in a variety of roles before undertaking two stints as Deputy CEO, working closely with the CEO to help the organisation develop and grow. Amongst a number of topics David has a particular passion for supporting mental wellbeing, running a small not-for-profit named Rural Respite and will shortly be inducted as a Trustee for Lancashire Mind.

Gary and David will be presenting on the topic of Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and harnessing the power of football to integrate. They will begin by presenting a short overview of the organisation before focusing specifically on the integration work they have delivered within Blackburn with Darwen. Context will be provided to help observers improve their understanding of the club, the geographical area of operation and local challenges, including the demographics of the community. The presentation will then focus on several successful initiatives which have a key aim to integrate diverse communities, challenge stereotypes, share cultural strengths and help local people value diversity. There will be some references to how the organisation continued to function and achieve impact during the pandemic. The session will finish with a short Q&A.

Sander van Stiphout – Johan Cruijff ArenA

Sander van Stiphout, Director international / Program manager innovation at Johan Cruijff ArenA is the next confirmed speaker at our 16th EFDN Conference in Breda on 9 & 10 November 2021. 

Sander van Stiphout is program manager innovation and director of the consultancy branch of the Johan Cruijff ArenA. To achieve tangible goals for the stadium and its main stakeholders Ajax, KNVB and the City of Amsterdam Sander drives innovation among ecosystem partners such as KPN, KPMG, Microsoft, Signify, Heineken, ABN Amro, SME’s, start-ups, research institutes and universities, using the stadium as a field lab, also for societal challenges. Sander has worked on stadium projects worldwide and was involved in projects related to all recent major tournaments, such as the Russia and Brazil World Cups. Sander was special stadium operations consultant to the Qatar Supreme Committee in relation to the FIFA World Cup 2022 preparations.

Sander will be presenting the Johan Cruijff ArenA as a sustainable stadium. He will take you along on the journey of the Johan Cruijff ArenA on how it became carbon neutral in its energy supply, how it uses widely communicated challenges to enhance innovation in decreasing the carbon footprint of football and other events and how this ecosystem approach creates value to partners and contributes to societal challenges.

Get your ticket for the 16th EFDN Conference in Breda here.