January 08th, 2026

​Statement in Defense of Children’s Rights – Zero Tolerance for Terrorism in EuropeWorld Children & Youth Physical Education Academy (C.Y.P.E. – Academy) declares its full, open, and uncompromising support for the newly established European organization:
European Children & Youth Physical Education Academy (E.C.Y.P.E. – Academy).
The establishment of this new European organization is a value-based and deliberate response to the growing lack of trust in the European Union’s ability to defend the fundamental rights of children and young people. Over the years, emerging cases of corruption, deficiencies in financial oversight, and the erosion of accountability have weakened confidence in systems that should first and foremost protect the most vulnerable — children.
C.Y.P.E. – Academy cannot and will not remain silent in a situation where the consequences of war, terrorism, and political compromises fall upon children.
No Compromises on Children’s Rights
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has demonstrated in the most brutal way how children are systematically turned into instruments and victims of war.
Attacks on schools and hospitals, the forced displacement of children, the destruction of families, and constant fear constitute serious violations of international law and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
We do not accept any political actions in Europe that indirectly justify, downplay, or normalize terrorism, the killing of civilians, or violations of children’s rights.
Children’s lives, safety, and future are not negotiable.
Finland – The Home of Peacebuilding
The European Children & Youth Physical Education Academy (E.C.Y.P.E. – Academy) is founded in Finland, a country internationally recognized for peacebuilding, the rule of law, and the promotion of human rights.
Finland’s history also includes profound and painful experiences of violence and pressure exercised by Russia and the Soviet Union. This historical reality has taught us that freedom, human dignity, and children’s rights cannot be defended by words alone — they require action, moral backbone, and courage.
Action, Not Silence
The board of the new European organization includes three Ukrainian professionals in physical education and youth work, all with direct, lived experience of the war’s impact on children and young people. The entire board is committed to defending children’s rights through practical action in war and crisis zones, beginning in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine.
World Children & Youth Physical Education Academy (C.Y.P.E. – Academy) supports E.C.Y.P.E. – Academy by all available means and works together with it to eradicate corruption, strengthen transparency, and combat terrorism directed against children’s rights in Europe.
Physical Education Is Resistance to Terrorism
​We believe that physical education is more than physical activity. It is:

• resistance to violence
• a means of healing children traumatized by war
• a way to restore dignity, hope, and belief in the future

We defend every child --
in Ukraine, in Europe, and everywhere terrorism seeks to steal childhood.
We do not look away.
We do not remain silent.
We do not give up.
Children’s rights are absolute.
And for them, we take action.

Timo Virtanen
General Manager
World Children & Youth Physical Education Academy
(C.Y.P.E. – Academy)

Timo Virtanen General Manager Mykolaiv city 2025