EFDN Highlights: September 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 September.
COLOUR BLIND AWARENESS DAY
On Colour Blind Awareness Day (6th September 2021), the NGOs European Football for Development Network and Colour Blind Awareness, the National Football Associations of Portugal, Iceland and Romania, as well as Oxford Brookes University and Danish football club Randers FC were raising awareness for this issue and the implications this has on the beautiful game. To address and raise awareness of the impact of colour blindness in sport, the European Union has provided funding for the Tackling Colour Blindness in Sport or TACBIS project, which consists of a consortium of partners from across the footballing world, to launch this programme with the support of UEFA and the English FA. High profile ambassadors such as Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes and Jéssica Silva will be continuing to support TACBIS on Colour Blind Awareness Day 2021 extending their valuable support in 2020 when #ColourBlindAwarenessDay achieved over 12.5 million social media impressions helped by their support.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE – WE STAND FOR RESPECT AND KINDNESS
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace was “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”. We invited our members to join the efforts of the United Nations family and football organisations as we focus on recovering better for a more equitable and peaceful world.
EUROPEAN WEEK OF SPORT
Every year from 23 to 30 September, the European Week of Sport promotes more active, healthier lifestyles to millions of people in Europe and beyond. This year the launch was in Bled, Slovenia. EFDN Hubert Rovers attended the opening event. The seventh edition of the European Week of Sport highlighted the power of physical activity to bring joy, build resilience and connect generations. For six years, the European Week of Sport has helped tackle the inactivity crisis by encouraging Europeans to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle. Launched in 2015, the European Week of Sport was created in response to the worsening inactivity crisis. Despite sport and physical activity substantially contributing to the well-being of European citizens, the level of physical activity is currently stagnating and even declining in some countries. We invited all EFDN members to support the European Week of Sport.
During the opening day of the European Week of Sport, the European Commission launched the new HealthyLifeStyle4All campaign promoting a healthy lifestyle across generations and social groups.
CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION WEBINAR – SUMMARY OF A ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION
On Tuesday, September 21st EFDN organised together with SCORT and ITU a Round table discussion on ‘Child Online Protection in European Football Clubs’. During the webinar, several panelists shared their expertise and insights on this important topic. As a result of the recent survey among EFDN Members regarding Child Online Protection, this event was created for football clubs to help them face the challenges regarding the protection of children online. With the growing use of digital tools and online interactions, there has never been a more important moment to address these questions and talk about COP.
WORLD CLEANUP DAY
The EFDN Team came into action on World Cleanup Day, this Saturday 18th of September 2021. Instead of their usual activities at the office or in projects during the week, EFDN colleagues armed with plastic gloves and garbage bags went through the historic centre of Breda, the city where EFDN is based, to make their contribution to World Cleanup Day.
SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD – WEEK OF CULTURE
The Show Racism the Red Card Europe ‘Week of Culture’ will took place from the 20th of September until the 26th of September. The goal of this event was to promote cultural diversity within the European football frame.
This campaign was be led by EFDN and Show Racism the Red Card Europe in order to raise awareness of the variety of cultures that we find in the European football context. We invited all football organizations at the grassroots and professional level to join our activities and to use our free campaign material to make a stand for the benefits of having a diverse culture.
Member News
EFDN Member Shamrock Rovers Football Club announced the launch of a major STEM education initiative in conjunction with Unite the Union and EFDN Partner Sphero Sports.
Dutch EFDN member PSV Foundation started their ‘Tikkie Terug’ programme this month to help people with dementia.
New Members
EFDN welcomed Cagliari Calcio as a new member to the network.
Aris Limassol FC Social, Environmental, and Health Initiatives
