MILAN (ITALPRESS) – A meeting in Milan between the Minister for Sports and Youth, Andrea Abodi, and the European Commissioner for Intergenerational Equity, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, an opportunity for an initial and operational exchange of experiences and ideas on issues related to sports and youth for the sharing of objectives, strategies, tools and programs to be developed jointly, together with other European ministers.
In the colloquium it was shared by both how much sport is a fundamental component of each nation’s social economy, and it was emphasized how essential it can be for all member states to adopt the sports satellite account, to measure the role of sport and related investments in public policies and to compare them among themselves. There was also agreement on the need to make EU public policies even more effective and coordinated, which can respond to the challenges of our times on the issues of quality of life and healthy lifestyles of citizens, starting with the most fragile categories, while respecting the autonomy of individual countries.
In this regard, the minister recalled the constitutional recognition that the Italian Parliament secured a year and a half ago to the social, educational and promotion of psychophysical well-being value of sporting activity in all its forms, hoping that this constitutional amendment may inspire other member states to follow Italy’s example. Given the approach to Milan-Cortina 2026, Abodi took the opportunity to present the activities in place to better organize the major international sporting events that Italy is going to organize, stressing the importance of European solidarity in the processes of candidacy and organization of major events.
In the context of strengthening the “European Sports Model,” Commissioner Micallef showed particular interest in what the Italian government is implementing, with reference to social policies in sports, the XXV Olympics and Paralympics in Milan Cortina 2026 – scheduling a visit to the Olympic and Paralympic sites as soon as possible in compliance with the relevant agendas – the Mediterranean Games Taranto 2026, the Winter Youth Olympic Games 2028, the European Football Championships 2032.
The minister also presented the idea of elaborating a project in Italy for the coordinated development of a network of golf infrastructure, starting with the eight southern regions, from the perspective of tourism internationalization, with the aim of deseasonalization and offering new opportunities for sustainable economic growth. The Commissioner also expressed his appreciation for the Italian organization of the recently concluded Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin 2025.
Finally, a number of youth issues were also touched upon, which will be further explored in a future meeting. Abodi was able to briefly illustrate to Micallef the programs and activities put in place by the Italian government, with particular reference to the good practices of universal civil service, in all its articulations, which involves 70,000 young people every year, and to the National Youth Card, a valuable digital tool that the Department for Youth Policy and Universal Civil Service has further developed and promoted over the past two years, which today offers opportunities to 3.5 million young people aged 18 to 35.
– IPA Agency photo –
(ITALPRESS).
