Interview with the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Mr. Yannis Vroutsis
Having taken over the portfolio of sport as deputy minister, Mr. Yannis Vroutsis reveals to grtraveller the ministry’s prospects and plans for the promotion of sport as a central element in the life of all citizens and its integration into the educational system.
Mr Vroutsis, you took over the portfolio of Sport, having a rich parliamentary career. How important is the upgrade to a ministry?
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has shown his will for the development of Sport in Greece by upgrading it to a Ministry and has entrusted me to captain the ship of sport.
It is a great honour and responsibility to be the first Minister of Sport, but it is also a heavy duty to hand it over to new generations free of any pathogenesis.
When I travel abroad, I am touched to see the respect of my foreign counterparts towards the Greek Minister, the representative of the country where the values of Olympism were born and spread to the ends of the world.
What is your vision and what legacy do you want to leave?
I come from a demanding Ministry, the Ministry of Labour, where in difficult budgetary years, we managed to eliminate pathologies, to modernise the insurance system, to establish “Ergani”, an extremely useful and irreplaceable tool for everyone.
We believe in extroversion,
we consider sport as a vehicle
for the development of societies at the economic level
and we remain faithful to the Olympic Ideals
We have established rules of transparency and rules that operate with complete transparency, with integrity in mind. This is exactly what I am striving for in sport.
For us in the upgraded Ministry of Sport, our main directions are two: one is to instill sports awareness in citizens of all ages and the second is to pass on the values of Sport through education.
The main pillars we are moving on in the Ministry of Sport are:
The New Sports Law that will come in combination with the codification of the existing one, the Law. 2725/1999, which has been amended so many times over these 25 years. We want to build, not tear down. Strengthen the institutional pillars by the end of 2024. This is done through a broader National Dialogue with all people and stakeholders in Sport
After Ergani in the Ministry of Labour we will have the “Kouros” platform in Sport! It is the ultimate digitized record of the entire country’s sport, officially presented on 21 March at the OAKA, and will reduce bureaucracy, provide direct information to the public, have comparative data and measurable figures on the quantity and quality of our sport and will be accessible in a mobile app, the My Kouros App. Kouros will become a valuable tool for making policy decisions for a targeted strategy for the development of sports by geographical area.
We are proceeding with the modernisation of all National Sports Centres in the country.
Institutionally safeguard and upgrade School Sports.
We are strengthening and expanding the Sport for All Programme, building synergies with local government.
In what way is it strengthened through your policies o amateur sport?
Our care for Greek sport is continuous and practical. In addition to all the other increased funding to upgrade sports facilities across the country, we have directly supported the cell, its base, clubs and our national teams with an unprecedented 194 million euros. euros over the last three years.
The allocation of such serious resources, every year from the taxation of betting, proves the great attention that the Government shows in order for our sport to develop, to progress and for our country, which gave birth to its ideals and offered the Olympic Games to the rest of the world, to occupy its rightful place in the world.
I feel blessed
because the origin,
the roots, my heart
located at
in the Cyclades
I want to emphasize here that as Minister of Sport and a Cycladic, I committed myself and the inclusion of insularity in the criteria for the allocation of sports resources was put into practice. It is the first time that increased funding is paid, with a 50% increase in funding to island associations, while there is special provision for islands up to 3,100 inhabitants.
Is Greece the “ideal arena” for the development of sports tourism? What is your contribution to its promotion through sport?
In recent years, Greece is increasingly establishing itself as a key destination for millions of tourists from all over the world, favouring alternative forms of tourism which are promoted and enhanced through grtraveller and you are to be congratulated.
Sports tourism, a sector in which the Ministry of Sport has invested to link sport to the country’s economy and the development of regional communities, particularly those not yet exploited in tourism. We have restarted two very important international major sporting events, always in accordance with the terms of sustainable development, as it is now defined worldwide: the unique Rally of the Gods, the EKO Rally Acropolis and the PPC International Tour of Hellas, two very demanding races-events with global visibility for our country.
We believe in extroversion, we consider sport as a vehicle for the development of societies on an economic level and we remain faithful to the Olympic Ideals. Through great global events, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Values, is promoted in every corner of the world, with diverse national benefits.
We are convinced that we will succeed in giving the blessed Greek land the added value it deserves in every region of the country.
From which places you have visited in Greece do you have the most beautiful memories?
I feel blessed because my origin, my roots, my heart are in the Cyclades. In the enchanting multi-island region of our country. I have travelled all over Greece, which I consider the most beautiful country in the world. We are lucky to live here! Every corner of Greece has a special magic.
My memories, and not only, are flooded by the Cycladic light, the endless blue of the Aegean Sea, the sounds of the island’s traditional music, the stories of my compatriots. My origins may be from Naxos and Amorgos, but my whole life is intertwined with the Cyclades!
