The European Day of Care
▶Summary
Background Inspired by a professional basketball player that had an outstanding sports career but when the time came that he had to resign he was abandoned by his sports club & became homeless living under a bridge. This made us realise how important it is to help athletes find the bridge from the sports world to the working world. A large number of former athletes are not able to handle the end of their sports career and the start of a different life with new priorities, which leads to personal tragedies. Objectives The aim was to facilitate the integration of athletes and former athletes into the working world after their sports careers. Each of the 5 partners organised specific awareness raising events on regarding the importance of dual careers. The project's outcomes were a guidelines and 6 international movie campaigns. The results were more than the expected, an extra promotional video, 44 legend interviews, a stable continuity with the stakeholders and a pledge with other EU partners and countries. Implementation In Portugal, Hungary, Croatia, Italy and Finland we aimed and succeeded in promoting Dual Careers as a vehicle for the prevention and a road to achieve holistic training of athletes(as human beings). We involved former legends which gave testimonials and inspiring stories, We launched local action plans in each country made up of career days, a set of recommendations, workshops and involved many stakeholders who have undertaken the continuity of the project once the EU funds have been used up. Achievements In total we physically helped and involved 150 former athletes. We used 44 former athletes testimonials, who've been successful in their dual career, to inspire the new generations. We involved stakeholders (universities, sports clubs, businesses) that have opened their doors to sports internships &potential scholarships.We launched 7 promotional videos, the first went viral and we were contacted by African states as a result. With the help of the UER & Uni.Zagreb we built a book of guidelines.