On 13 and 14 March 2026, the Municipality of Fundão opened its doors to partners from four countries and gave the Olympics of Sustainability its official start. What had lived on paper became a shared plan, built in one room, over two days.
The morning set the direction. Partners walked through the project’s purpose, its main deliverables and the progress already made, then turned to the results of the first research phase. That session did real work. Together, partners shaped the interview guides and survey tools that would soon gather the views of schools, clubs, young people and local authorities across the four countries. The methodology would not be written at a desk. It would be built on what people actually told us.
The afternoon changed gear. Using a World Café format, partners moved between tables to tackle two questions at the heart of the project: how to design sport competitions that are both sustainable and genuinely inclusive, and how to build a communication and engagement strategy that lasts beyond the funding period. The same discussions settled the practical backbone of the partnership, agreeing how it would be governed, how it would communicate and how decisions would be made.
By the close of the first day, the plan had teeth. Partners signed off an action plan and a clear-eyed look at the risks ahead, covering the deliverables to come: the Green Playbook, the launch of the project’s online presence, and preparation for the next transnational meeting in Helsinki.
The second day stayed hands-on, with time for project tasks and a visit to local sport facilities in Fundão. It was a fitting reminder of where this project belongs: in real venues, with real communities.
The Olympics of Sustainability brings sustainability into the heart of sport. Across Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Finland, it uses fresh event formats to promote inclusion, environmental awareness and lasting community impact. In Fundão, that journey began.