Ukraine joins the European initiative VALUE COMPASS aimed at promoting democratic values in sport
The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has joined the pan-European initiative “VALUE COMPASS: Promoting Democratic Values in Sport in Europe,” which aims to help sports organizations identify, develop, and implement democratic values in their activities.
The NOC of Ukraine announces its participation in the two-year international project VALUE COMPASS, co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme and bringing together seven partner organizations from Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its goal is to foster a shared understanding of democratic values in European sport and to support sports organizations in integrating these principles into their daily work.
At a time when democratic principles are facing serious challenges, sport remains an important social platform capable of uniting people regardless of borders, culture, or background. Sport has significant potential to promote fundamental values such as respect, equality, human dignity, diversity, and solidarity—principles that underpin both the European Union and the Olympic Movement. Defining and understanding the meaning of these values is one of the key objectives of the project.
VALUE COMPASS seeks to unlock this potential by building a common understanding of democratic values in sport and providing sports organizations with practical tools for implementing them in everyday activities.
Over the course of two years, the project will develop an interactive online tool—VALUE COMPASS—which will help sports organizations identify the values that best align with their mission, culture, and activities, as well as highlight areas where these values are not yet sufficiently addressed. An important outcome will be the VALUE FRAMEWORK—a shared catalogue of democratic values in sport, created through a series of national workshops in partner countries and scientifically validated by experts from Bielefeld University. Complementing this will be the VALUE GUIDE—a practical handbook with recommendations, roadmaps, and examples of best practices to help organizations integrate values into their strategy and daily operations. All project results will be freely available in multiple languages on the project website.
The project is coordinated by the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (DOSB), the National Olympic Committee of Germany. In addition to the NOC of Ukraine, partners include the National Olympic Committees of Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Estonia, Bielefeld University as the academic partner, and kultwerk GmbH as the technology partner.
President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Vadym Guttsait, stated: “Today, the topic of democratic values has a special meaning for Ukraine. The Ukrainian people defend these principles every day, protecting freedom, dignity, and the right to be part of the European democratic community. That is why participation in international projects aimed at strengthening values in sport is extremely important for us. We are convinced that sport can be a powerful tool for building an open, responsible, and supportive society.”
Olga Danko, Chair of the NOC of Ukraine’s “Athlete Entourage” Commission and Coordinator of European Cooperation Projects, emphasized: “For Ukraine, participation in VALUE COMPASS is of particular importance. In times of war, sport continues to be a space where respect, solidarity, and human dignity are upheld. Cooperation with European partners allows us not only to exchange experience but also to jointly develop new approaches to building sports organizations based on democratic principles and shared European values.”
The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine is the leading organization of the Olympic movement in the country and coordinates the development of Olympic sport in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter. The Committee cooperates with national sports federations, government institutions, and international partners to support athletes, develop sport, and promote Olympic values—friendship, excellence, and respect.
VALUE COMPASS is a cooperation project co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Sport programme. The project runs from January 2026 to December 2027 and aims to establish a shared vision and practical implementation of democratic values in sport across Europe. Its results are designed to be used by National Olympic Committees, sports federations, regional organizations, clubs, and volunteers in various countries.