TES-D : A New Erasmus+ Sport Project for the Development of a Sport Diplomacy for the European Union

This new project, co-funded by the Erasmus + Programme of the European Union (EU), was launched on January 27, 2021, during the kick-off meeting which was held virtually.

Until the end of 2022, the two-year project will involve a diverse consortium of academics and practitioners from six countries of the European Union, and the United Kingdom.

In addition to the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS, France), which serves as the coordinating organisation, and the International Sport and Cultural Association (ISCA, Denmark), six universities are taking part in the project: Edge Hill University (United Kingdom), the National University of Physical Education of Sports (Romania), SOAS University of London (United Kingdom), the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy), the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain, Belgium), and the University Carlos III of Madrid (Spain).

As the nexus between sport and diplomacy has gained strategic significance with the EU, TES-D aims to develop a set of policy recommendations for the establishment of a common sport diplomacy at the EU-level by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach and building upon existing foundations. It intends to create a network of relevant stakeholders while developing pilot actions in order to assess the feasibility and sustainability of an EU sport diplomacy policy, in addition to conducting empirical research on the very concept of sport diplomacy and existing sport diplomacies within all 27 members of the European Union.

TES-D has the ambition to implement concrete policies and enable long-term dialogues among key stakeholders – such as policy makers, diplomats, academics, sports organisations, athletes – interested in the strategic challenges created by sport and diplomacy within the European Union.

“Towards a European Sport Diplomacy” is co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Collaborative Partnerships in the Sport programme.

Follow TES-D on Twitter with #EUSportDiplomacy #TESDiplo

More on its website and its LinkedIn Page soon

PARTNERS

CONTACTS:

Carole GOMEZ, Senior Research Fellow, IRIS > gomez@iris-france.org

Estelle BRUN, Research Associate, IRIS > brun@iris-france.org