Tbilisi Hosts Conference of European Sports Ministers

This year, October 15-17, Tbilisi will host the 15th bi-annual Conference of Ministers Responsible for Sport. A conference of this type is organized every two years under the Council of Europe's Enhanced Partial Agreement on Sports (EPAS), with thei year Georgia's Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport as a co-organizer.

The conference will focus on two main themes:

• Protecting human rights in sport: obligations and shared responsibilities

• Fighting corruption in sport: scaling up action

Ministers of Sport representing states parties to the European Cultural Convention and EPAS member states are expected to attend the conference, along with high-level representatives from the sports movement.

The first day of the conference will be a meeting of the Senior Officials from all participating states, during which the draft resolutions on the two topics will be finalized.

Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, CoE member states' senior officials responsible for sports (ministers, deputy ministers, and department heads) and the heads of international sports and non-governmental organizations will participate in the conference.

According to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, the 2018 Sports Ministerial is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Georgia's independence. The conference will be held at the Biltmore Hotel.

By Samantha Guthrie
Photo: Council of Europe