The Croatian Olympic Committee successfully hosted the 2^nd Educational Module of the EU-Funded Erasmus+ project GUARD, gathering 170 participants-Child Safeguarding Officers, experts and representatives of seven National Olympic Committees, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Croatia and the country’s Office of the Ombudsperson for Children.

At the opening session, welcoming remarks were delivered by Zlatko Mateša, President of the Croatian Olympic Committee, Helenca Pirnat Dragičević, Ombudswoman for Children, and the representative of the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Roberta Karadža. All three emphasized the importance of joint institutional actions and shared responsibility for the safety of children and young athletes across all sporting environments.

Project Manager Maja Poljak welcomed the participants and referred to the project’s progress, noting that GUARD was built on the belief that every child deserves to feel safe in sport. She also underlined that the 2nd Module marks the transition from awareness to action, ensuring the international exchange of knowledge.

Throughout the day, participants explored child safeguarding frameworks in sport with contributions from Roberta Karadža, representative of the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Zrinka Greblo Jurakić and Ana Žnidarec Čučković, Safeguarding experts who support the project, as well as Alina Gherghisan and Matea Horvat, representatives of the Romanian and Croatian National Olympic Committees, in the role of Welfare and Safeguarding Officers.

A particularly moving moment was when Emma Thomas, former athlete, specializing in sport ethics and founder of the Under the Ropes Organization in Great Britain, shared her personal story as a survivor of abuse, reminding everyone that Safeguarding is a shared duty in order to prevent similar incidents in the future and emphasizing the importance of adopting an athlete-centered approach that takes trauma into account.

The afternoon program featured valuable international insights, including presentations by the Polish and Slovenian NOCs as well as the European Olympic Committees’ EU Office. Maja Smrdu, representative of the Slovenian NOC and member of the European Olympic Committees’ Ethics Commission, along with Peter Dokl OLY, Head of the Olympic Values Department of the Slovenian NOC, stressed the athlete-centered approach to Safeguarding and the importance of mental health and ethical leadership in sport.

Carlotta Giussani, Head of Funding at the European Olympic Committees’ EU Office and Project Manager of the SAFE HARBOUR initiative, presented the latter’s outcomes and its complementarity with GUARD, underlining that joint European efforts are shaping a coherent Safeguarding framework across the Olympic Movement.

Participants also completed an evaluation survey designed to support the creation of a European network of Child Safeguarding Officers, an online platform facilitating collaboration and exchange of knowledge among participants.

The same Educational Module 2 will be presented in Lithuania in November for its representatives, ensuring that the project’s training standards and Safeguarding specifications will continue to expand across Europe.

The final Educational Module 3 is expected to take place at national level in February 2026.

The Greek delegation included representatives from the following Federations: Tennis, Weightlifting, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Equestrian, Sailing, Basketball, Track & Field, Rowing, Modern Pentathlon, Fencing, Volleyball, Cycling, Boxing, Taekwondo, Judo, Triathlon, Winter Sports and Handball.

For more information, please visit www.project-guard.eu