Dear Friends, 

The ENGSO Strategy for the years 2007 to 2011 has provided us with plentiful challenges and demands created by the operational activities. The role of ENGSO role is becoming ever greater with the increasing number of partnerships, such as the ones we have now with different EU institutions, the Council of Europe, various sport and health organisations. There are 40-50 international meetings in which representatives of ENGSO participate every year. 

I am indeed pleased with the work of the very professional ENGSO Secretariat and the ENGSO Working Groups, as well as with our very active ENGSO Youth. As a volunteer leader of ENGSO myself, it is my aim to build up the administrative support for our organisation, so that we can meet an increasingly busy schedule of meetings, policy implementations, funding applications, preparation of statements, organisation of meetings.

Allow me to thank the Swedish Sports Confederation for their exceptional support and their great effort in organisation of such a successful Conference. I think we can all agree that the results from such events greatly contribute to our members.  

I would also like to thank the ENGSO Secretariat for preparation of this Forum and ENGSO EU Working Group for their active participation. In my words of gratitude I wish to thank the European Commission, Council of Europe and European Lotteries for their outstanding contributions to the Forum. 

And last but not least I would like to thank you all for your valuable contributions to the final product as the outcome of this Forum – the conclusions that we will all be able to benefit from in our work in sports. 

I look forward to seeing you all in April 2009, in the City of Paris, for the 17^th ENGSO General Assembly.

Birgitta Kervinen                                                            
President