The Torch Relay for the next year's youth event, scheduled for January 21 to 28, began yesterday in Rome with the Flame of Peace lighting ceremony.

Although it is a fraction of the size of the Olympics, it gives the Organising Committee the chance to learn from any possible oversights.

"I think that the EYOF is a big event and as such it has a lot of challenges for the organisers but not at the level of the Olympic Games therefore it gives the opportunity for everyone to see how things work and to learn from the mistakes," European Olympic Committees President Spyros Capralos told insidethegames.

"I think that will serve the 2026 Winter Olympic Games."

Further cooperation between the two events is set to take place through an already existing Memorandum of Understanding with the Milan Cortina 2026 Foundation.

It will see students from the universities of Trieste and Udine and the Friuli Venezia Giulia region's high schools serve as volunteers at both Games.

A project is also planned for University of Udine students to analyse the environmental and economic impact of the EYOF, while its faculty of mathematics will develop a visual traceability system to measure the athletes' performances.

A conference is also due to be held by the regional directorate of schools to promote the Olympic values among children.

"The combination of EYOF2023 Friuli Venezia Giulia and Milan Cortina 2026 is a unique thing, which everyone envies us," said Italian National Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malagò.

"Maybe there will be people like Sara Scattolo [the athlete who lit the EYOF Flame] who will be protagonists in this event and then in the Winter Olympic Games.

"It is a hope but not only, it is the will to do well and react in a complicated moment - ours is a world that brings peace and we must protect peace with the example of these girls and boys."