Inclusion in Sport - iSport
The two-year iSport Project looks to promote diversity and social inclusion in sport by enhancing the sporting experience of all participants – athletes and volunteers, especially targeting women, LGBT+ and people with disabilities – and promoting equal opportunities and awareness of the importance of health-enhancing physical activity through increased participation in, and equal access to, sport for all.
The project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, is unique in bringing together actors from profiles underrepresented in sport – women, LGBT+, people with disabilities – the goal being to increase participation of these minorities in sport competitions and tournaments, and also to offer the experience of shared sporting experiences and the opportunity to learn about the uniqueness of each other.
The project started in 2021 and will conclude in 2023, with the main goal is to increase the participation of the target groups in sports competitions and tournaments, as well as to provide the experience of shared sporting experiences and the opportunity to learn about each other's uniqueness.
The project includes several major activities, including the development of online training that will be developed as a MOOC, gamifying scenario playouts as serious game-based learning, organising multiplier sports events run by the partners, and making an overall summary packed with recommendations that will be useful for event organisers of multi-profile sports events.
By far, the iSport project partners had regular partner meetings, both online and in person, on the occasion of the EURO Games in Nijmegen and the European Sport Platform in Arnhem, keeping up with task completion and following the development of the scenario-based game, created for educational purposes. This inclusion in sport project was presented as one example of best practices at the European Sports Platform 2022, as an innovative tool encouraging inclusion and promoting equal opportunities.
The most recent online meeting, which took place in January 2023, provided an update on the development of the serious game and upcoming working tasks. The meeting detailed and showed the finished draft of the scenario-based serious game, outlining every step and choice available.
The partners were shown the gamification version of all four scenarios and how to access different parts of it, such as the leaderboards, the mini-games, and the results table. The partners are now evaluating this version of the game before it is launched to the general public. The partners agreed on the dates for the next partner meeting, which will be held in May in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss future work tasks.
The project consortium consists of eight partners from eight countries, led by the EUSA Institute (SLO). Project partners include: Panteres Grogues Sports Club (ESP), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GRE), Finnish Paralympic Committee (FIN), University Sports Association of Poland (POL), European Paralympic Committee (AUT), European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation (SWE) and European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation Vereniging (NED).
For more information on the Inclusion in Sport (iSport) project, please see https://www.isporteurope.eu/