New steps for the EQUIP project during the ENGSO GA hosted by the Hellenic Paralympic Committee in Hersonissos, Greece.
The EQUIP seminar “Equality, Diversity and Disabilities” kicked-off the ENGSO General Assembly on Friday, 12 May 2023. Organised by the Hellenic Paralympic Committee and supported by the the ENGSO EWS Committee, the session gave voice to Greek athletes Evanthia Bournia and Andreas Katsaros who shared their stories of empowerment through sport. Sakis Kostaris, HPC Director, presented the challenges and progress of the Paralympic movement in Greece and Jen Browning, EWS member (UK Sport) led an interactive discussion with the 50 participants about the existing policies and available statistics on the participation of people with disabilities in grassroots sport in Europe.
The Forum began on Tuesday, 2 May, with welcome speeches from Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth (video speech), Jakob Forssmed, Swedish Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health, and Tomasz Frankowski, Member of the European Parliament.
The opening was followed by the high-level panel discussion “Women in sport: from grassroots to leadership” in which ENGSO President Stefan Bergh highlighted the importance of gender balances, at all levels of sport – from grassroots to leadership, in order for sport organisations and club to work and perform better.
The participants of the EQUIP seminar on Equality, Diversity, and Disabilities on May 12th, 2023 in Hersonissos, Greece.
Hersonissos also hosted an EQUIP Steering Committee to discuss the final steps of the project. Partners continued with the preparation of the Equality in Sport (EQUIP) conference which will be organised in Lisbon, Portugal on October 12th. The main project results will be presented in an interactive ways (quiz, informal educational activities), and the program will bring together clubs and federations across Europe that are currently implementing equality action-plans with the support of the EQUIP partners, experts and the tools created in the project.
If you are interested to know more about the practical implementation of equality in sport, and to meet actors who make a different at all levels (from local to international), save the date for this free and inclusive conference, which will be followed by the European Sport Platform (ESP) 2023.
The EQUIP Steering Committee met on May 11th, 2023 with (from left to right): Sarah Townsend (EGLSF), Floriane Poncet-Rief (ENGSO), Sakis Kostaris (HPC), Anabela Reis (PSC), Linda Rombola (OPES) and Elisabeth Strobach (ENGSO).