EFDN Highlights: October 2021
As 2021 comes to an end, EFDN invites you to look back on this year’s top activities, projects and news stories. Take a look at some highlights from October.
SDG STRIKER TEAM MEETING IN BARCELONA
For the first physical project meeting, the SDG Striker team met in Barcelona on the 29th and 30th September 2021. Even though there are still Covid restrictions, some of the partners, like Energieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz (EI-JKU), the Norwegian FA, and Bryan Lucas as Project manager on behalf of EFDN, have been able to travel to the venue to join the host of the meeting Ecoserveis. For two days, the project partners spoke about the diverse actions to take to move forward in this project. The agenda was created to talk about the pilots of the project.
For people who would like to get more insight on this project, please visit the landing page of the programme, and contact us if you want to know more about it.
#FOOTBALLPEOPLE WEEKS KICK-OFF
The #FootballPeople weeks are a Fare Network campaign and unite supporters, clubs, players, minority groups and communities affected by discrimination to stand for equality and inclusion. This year’s weeks took place from the 7th to 21st October 2021. The #FootballPeople weeks is the largest campaign for social change and diversity in global football. During the two-week period over 150,000 people in more than 50 countries organised and participated in events and activities to bring about social change. EFDN was also supporting the goals the #FootballPeople weeks are focused on and wanted to promote by running programs promoting diversity, inclusion and anti-discrimination.
CHANGING THE CHANTS WEBINAR
EFDN hosted the webinar “Tackling Discrimination & Anti-Semitism in Football” as part of a European-wide series of Changing the Chants events on anti-Semitism in football. Changing the Chants is a two-year project, supported by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme. It consists of an innovative and international cooperation between Borussia Dortmund, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Fare Network, and the Anne Frank House. The goal is to deepen the understanding of approaches that football clubs can use to educate fans on antisemitic behaviour in the football stands. Changing the Chants builds upon two separate educational programmes for football fans, run by Borussia Dortmund and Feyenoord. These educational initiatives, although not similar, are exchanged and analysed, and new approaches are piloted, paving the way for practices in which restorative justice is applied.
Overall, the webinar played an essential role in bringing together several experts related to the topic and people interested in the project and provided a stage to share their respective inputs.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD
Why did we need to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child? Maybe because…
- … the global internet user gender gap is growing, from 11 per cent in 2013 to 17 per cent in 2019, and widest in the world’s least developed countries at 43 per cent.
- … 2.2 billion people below the age of 25 do not have internet access at home, with girls more likely to be cut off.
- … globally, the percentage of females among Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates is below 15 per cent in over two-thirds of countries.
- … and in middle and higher-income countries, only 14 per cent of girls who were top performers in science or mathematics expected to work in science and engineering compared to 26 per cent of top-performing boys.
These are not even all reasons, but they highlight that there is a structural difference for people depending on their perceived gender.
Many of our members and partners share the same view as us and wanted to celebrate young girls and highlight their achievement and inspirational power.
FOOTBALL WORKS TOURNAMENT AT P.I. KRIMPEN
On the 14th of October 2021, EFDN and the Dutch Department of Justice (DJI) hosted the 5th edition of the annual Football Works Festival at the prison in Krimpen, the Netherlands. The football tournament involved 8 teams: two Belgian teams, a team from KAA Gent and Younited Antwerpen, with ex-prisoners were participating in the football tournament, a socially inspired team of Excelsior Rotterdam, a team ‘WerkviaSportNL’, teams of PI Krimpen aan den IJssel, PI Arnhem and PI Veenhuizen and of course the collection of ex-players ‘FC De Rebellen’ with among others Glenn Helder, Ruben Schaken, Andwelé Slory and Ali Boussabon. Representatives of prisons, governments, football clubs and NGOs were also able to share their knowledge and experiences.
Member News
AEK Athens FC got a huge response to the action they undertook for the stray puppies, in cooperation with the non-profit organization “The ghosts of Aspropyrgos”.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, FC Basel 1893 women displayed their matchday graphics in pink to raise awareness of the importance of prevention, early detection and treatment of breast cancer. At the end of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the club once again brought the topic into focus with the auction of four exclusive FCB breast cancer shirts.
Aris Limassol FC Social, Environmental, and Health Initiatives
