Liolios: “The main goal of the EEC is sustainable development”

THE Hellenic Basketball Federation presented it Strategic Social and Environmental Responsibility program. In an event that took place, the actions that have been taken and those that have been planned were presented, both in major events such as the Pre-Olympic Tournament and the Women’s Eurobasket, as well as in collaboration with the unions.

Maximos Senetakis (Deputy Minister of Development): “I am here to learn about how sports enter our daily lives. I want to congratulate the EEC for its social program, but also the way it contributes to decentralization with events held in the region.”

Emmanuel Kolymbadis (General Secretary of the Hellenic Olympic Committee): “I feel a special emotion when I am among the people of the basketball field. I want to congratulate the president of the EEC and the entire administration for the initiative, which highlights the role of sports federations in our country. I wish good success, courage and strength, I am sure that the sport has solid foundations and will manage to offer to the society as a whole what the sports federations have set out to offer”.

Evangelos Liolios (President of EEC): “I am very happy that in the federation we have people with a vision. People are the asset to realize what we envision. Coming to the federation a few years ago, one of the things we wanted to build but perhaps the most important thing we can leave as a legacy, is the Corporate and Social Responsibility department. In 2015, the UN set 17 sustainable development goals for us to achieve by 2030. To date, 82% of national businesses join this goal, it is a global movement for our lives. For the environment, equality, education, tackling poverty… A federation without unions, clubs and athletes does not exist, it is the connecting link. The federation currently has 850-870 clubs, cells, each with its own structure, but also 75,000 athletes who play basketball every day and around 50,000 kids in the academies, but also a set of people who support all of them. Coaches, referees, agents, fans… Two and a half years ago we envisioned this department. Sports is not about winning or losing. The child goes to sports to learn values ​​and principles, to understand what respect and teamwork mean. Especially nowadays, when violence is everywhere. Sport is the answer to everything.”

“Sustainable development is the goal. The 125,000 who play basketball every day have in mind the area they play in, but basketball must go out into society. To go outside the stadiums, in every structure that supports social actions. Let everyone understand that basketball is not about playing with my friends, it’s about going out with my friends and helping the community. There was a club in New York that didn’t gather many fans. They gathered in a room and decided in pairs that the players would go out, find non-profit organizations. They talked to them and when they found out who was around them, they asked what their needs were and recorded them. They evaluated everyone’s action and went out to the shops to ask for help for these organizations. All the businesses were impressed that the athletes were asking for money not for themselves, but for others, and the next year the whole stadium was full. The children understood what sport means. They didn’t mind winning or losing, because they understood what society means. This is sport. Can we achieve it? Yes!”.

“From next year, 3,000 sections of children playing basketball, boys and girls, where around 45,000 children play sports, will go out into society. In 11 of the 17 acts we have chosen, once a year they will go outside the stadium and understand what society and sport mean. The environmental problem is not someone else’s, it is ours. The child wants actions, not words and we are here to do actions. It is the responsibility of all of us in sport. Every factor, coach, family… This for us is the main part of the federation, what we will leave behind. We want you as partners, because we cannot do much on our own. 125,000 can do anything. This is not about the federation, about us, but it is about you. Whatever we plan, we want the practical help of all of you to get results. I am sure that the coming generation is better than ours, but it needs protection and practical examples”.

Haman Niang (President of FIBA ​​Foundation): “On behalf of FIBA, I want to express my gratitude and congratulations to EEC for the fantastic initiative. My good friend, Mr. Liolios, have put social responsibility at the heart of the federation’s program. We are happy for the cooperation with EEC. We believe in the power of basketball to have a social impact worldwide. Together we can make a difference.”

Zacharias Stagakis (Head of Corporate and Social Responsibility Department EEC): “It is important to enjoy the trust of the federation administration. Our vision is for basketball to become one of the most efficient social and environmental responsibility platforms in Greece and Europe. We want to activate the basketball community in this direction. Respect, cooperation, volunteerism, ecology, innovation, responsibility and accountability are our guidelines. The CSR department was established in 2022 and we become the first basketball federation in Europe with a CSR department and strategy, as a Youth Leader at FIBA ​​level. Our action takes place with specific social and environmental practice platforms. Nothing can be done without the cooperation of all parties involved, so that with your help society can be helped. Inclusion-equality, health-welfare, human and child rights, but also action for the environment are the four pillars for us. Each of them will join four fields of action: the federation, the competitions, the basketball ecosystem and civil society. Our approach is not to force actions from the unions, but to give them all the incentives and mechanisms to become our teammates. We will provide incentives and rewards for those who embrace this framework. We hope that through all this we will put a small stone to make the world a little better through sports, as Nelson Mandela has said.”

Dr. Gasan Khalil (Diplomatic Representative of UNICEF in Greece): “I would like to congratulate the EEC on its new strategy. It is impressive that it includes human rights and children’s rights at the center of actions. At UNICEF we are proud and happy for the cooperation with the EEC, under the leadership of Mr. Lioliou. Every child in Greece must enjoy all rights and be protected from violence. We hope that this excellent cooperation with the EEC will continue.”

Ioannis Konstantopoulos (EEC Environmental Sustainability Advisor): “More than 300 organizations have signed up to the UN regulatory framework. Among them are huge organizations like the NBA and FIBA. Every year we will measure the pollutants coming from the operation of the federation, with the commitment that by 2030 they will have been reduced by 50%. And hopefully zero them out afterwards. The EEC is the first federation to participate in the UN climate initiative. It is also the first sports organization to measure the environmental footprint and to prepare the first Corporate and Social Responsibility strategy throughout Greece. In August 2022, the first sustainable development actions took place in European FIBA ​​championships. We are not talking theoretically, but about specific actions, such as waste recycling, which will be measured with specific performance indicators.

Gina Kyriazopoulou (Executive of the EEC Corporate and Social Responsibility Department): “35 actions have already been implemented and we have collaborated with 29 agencies. Our first action, in June 2022, was ‘Do basketball, no drugs’, in Larissa. The ‘Check your balls’ campaign that took place at the European U20 won an award, while at the Aegean Acropolis in 2023 we made the matches more accessible for visually impaired people. In the Pre-Olympic Tournament (2-7 July) there will be similar actions. More than 80,000 spectators will be accommodated at SEF, while the television viewers worldwide will be more than 700 million. FIBA sets environmental and social sustainability criteria and EEC’s CSR department designs and implements. The action proposals for the Pre-Olympic Tournament move along three axes, the environment, animals and society. The environmental actions have three axes, waste management, energy saving and measurement and reduction of the environmental footprint. Animal welfare activities include adoption days and feeding and sheltering stray animals. In the field of society, the plan includes two actions, the information booths of scientific organizations and the social stand, with the hosting of children from various social structures or people with disabilities. We are planning similar actions at the European U16 in Heraklion next August and at the Women’s EuroBasket in 2025. There will be many actions focused on women that will culminate in the event.”