Based on the grant agreement signed between the European Commission and the Croatian Olympic Committee (NOC of Croatia), beneficiaries of the project ‘Safeguarding children in sport’ (GUARD) were awarded a grant in the amount of 400,000 euros.
The NOC of Croatia coordinates the implementation of the project in cooperation with 7 partner organisations: Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Hellenic Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committee of Lithuania, Olympic Committee of North Macedonia, Polish Olympic Committee, Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, and Olympic Committee of Slovenia Association of Sports Federations. The project will be implemented in the period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026.
The project was designed with the objective to implement the guidelines for child safeguarding in sport (2022). Its main aim is to develop effective national system of child safeguarding in sport. Primarily, to appoint and educate child safeguarding officers in National Federations, helping them to acquire necessary knowledge and skills that enables further transfer of knowledge to child safeguarding officers in sport clubs. A total of 140 child safeguarding officers in National Federations will participate in the Training of Trainers as the building block in the process of developing the system of child safeguarding in sport at all levels.
To establish effective system of child safeguarding in sport, sport stakeholder awareness will be raised through dissemination activities aimed at increasing the understanding of their role and responsibility in creating a sport environment that makes children feel safe and, indeed, is safe from all forms of violence against children. To that aim, there needs to be a system in place with procedures for reporting violence or suspicion of violence against children in sport organisations, as well as a case response and case management system for responding to concerns of violence against children in sport. Child safeguarding officers in National Federations will be given a set of tools and resources for use in their future work. They will, of course, get the opportunity to gain necessary knowledge and skills through training organised for them during the project implementation. It will bring them clarity about their role and improve their understanding of how to transfer knowledge to child safeguarding officers in sport clubs, thus establishing the protection system which has the potential to continue growing and strengthening after the end of the project.
Dissemination activities will have an important role in the awareness raising activities targeted at individuals and organisations in the sport system, especially in relation to individual and organisational responsibility.
