Empowered Nation

The project was scheduled to last two years (Jan 2018 – Jan 2020) and it was targeting the topics of gender equality in university sport, women empowerment, youth employability and volunteering. Our target groups were decision-makers in sport, athletes, volunteers, sport officials and event organizers.Our project partners were representing countries from different corners of Europe (Portugal, Turkey, Slovenia, Hungary) and they also came from organisations of different scales (European federation, national federation, university, local sport club).The partners took responsibility and full commitment during the two-year project; in order to make a change in their country in the field of university sport by providing opportunities for gender balanced sport events with an applicable volunteer program which can serve as a reference point for the participant’s future professional development.To reach and fulfil all the project goals we planned the following actions:In mid-February 2018, we had a Skype meeting, after which the partners had the task to nominate two young volunteers or athletes from their organization who would like to engage closely to this project. In this way, the project gave opportunity to young people, making their voice heard, as well as giving them experience in the field of sport, volunteering and Erasmus+ project while we were able to boost their employability skills. The EUSA Office launched an open call for the project logo as we wished to activate as many people as we could have to contribute and participate at our project. The winner was selected and awarded at the educational workshop as part of the European University Games 2018. The project summary document was handed over to the EUSA members at the EUSA General Assembly in Madrid in April 2018 together with the gender equality survey, which was launched by EUSA Office for the third time (2011, 2016, 2018). In May 2018 EUSA Office staff was able to gather more data during the Head of Delegation meeting in Portugal and until July to create some statistics from the feedback received.In July 2018, the core team of the project met for the first time in Coimbra, Portugal during the European Universities Games 2018. At this event, we had an educational day as a side event for the interested athletes and volunteers. Our partners held a keynote speech and for the practical section used taekwondo and cheerleading as a tool to promote gender equality through sport. We also examined the volunteer program in Coimbra and discussed the upcoming EUSA events. In November 2018, we have received statistics from the EUG 2018 about gender participation of athletes, volunteers and officials. In March 2019, we had a 2-day midterm meeting at the Head Office of EUSA in Ljubljana, Slovenia where the core team discussed the Volunteer Programme Guide ideas. The partner organisations also examined their own respective association and ways to improve and implement the IOC Gender Equality review recommendations. EUSA Office afterwards launched a Voluntary Pledge Board and shared it with its members and partners, inviting all of them to sign the Board to support gender equality in sport at all levels. In December 2019, we had the closing meeting with the partners held in Budapest, where the partners discussed the overview of the project, dissemination and legacy. By this time, the sustainable volunteer program for the European Universities Games (EUG) 2020 was ready and shared with the organizers.