On November 29 and 30, an international conference on Sustainability and Legacy in Sport: Challenges and Perspectives was held in Kyiv in hybrid format, hosted by the National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine, National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, under the patronage of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), the European University Sports Association (EUSA) and the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE).

The 7^th edition, although still marked by the situation in Ukraine and the current state of affairs caused by the war, it managed to gather great speakers, covering insightful topics, all expressing high hopes that that peace will return soon, and sport, education and scientific work will continue to advance and grow.

Тhe conference was opened by the greetings of many important guests, among which,  FISU President, Mr Leonz Eder, Ms Maria Bulatova, Vice – President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, and Mr Mr Yevheniy Imas, the President of Sports Students' Union of Ukraine (SSUU).

On Wednesday, the following topics were put forward through plenary sessions: Social, Ecological, Economic and Organizational dimensions of sport in the concept of sustainable development; Physical culture of children and youth as components of sustainable development concept; Current challenges of sports development and achieving goals of sustainable development; Olympic education as implementation of sustainable development ideas in society; Current challenges of training choreographers in higher educational institutions;

After all these plenary sessions, a panel discussion followed and enlarged the discussion on each of the topics. The array of speakers on these panel discussions included EUSA President Mr Adam Roczek, who spoke about the Development programs of European Student Sports: key components and innovative directions.

On Wednesday, as part of the program of the conference, the Satellite seminar on Management of University Sport: Sustainable development of the Erasmus+ Project Enhancing Sport Organizations and Management (ESOM), took place.

To open the satellite seminar, Andrej Pisl, Project and Communications Manager of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) gave an overview of the ESOM project, the aims, main activities, topics addressed, as well as the timeline for 2023 and 2024.  

Following, Boris Sekulic from the Students Sports Association of Montenegro, presented the research done on Engagement and Participation in university sport done within the Sports Student Union of Montenegro. He also pointed out the importance of sport and student sport in the community, the role of the environment and opportunities in fostering engagement of students, and the importance of media coverage and popularity, when it comes to increasing participation, interest and engagement of students in sport.

The third short workshop was done by Aleksandra Leszczynska from University Sports Association of Poland, focusing on Media and Communication in university sport, presenting the media and communication strategy of AZS, the benefits of the press office, website usage as a platform, social media, and the importance of cooperation with local media and media factors.

To conclude this seminar was Anna Volosiuk, representative of the Sports Student Union of Ukraine, presenting about Marketing and promotion in university sport and best practices from their experience. She spoke about how student sport got popularised in Ukraine, the information tools, the mass sport events in Ukraine, as well as other ways of increasing interest for university sport on a local and international level.

On the second day of this conference, additional overall topics were covered: sports medicine, public health, mental health in sport, youth and the Olympic movement, and education through sport. These topics were mainly presented through sessions and panel discussions, covered by professionals in the areas of discussion.

For more information, please see https://uni-sport.edu.ua