GENS SUMMARY

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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Coordinator

🇮🇹 ITALY: ADS BALLIAMO

ASD Balliamo is a sport dance association based in Vada, Italy. Founded in 2014, it offers dance and sport activities for different ages and levels, with a strong focus on inclusion, community participation and personal growth. Through GENS, Balliamo brings its experience in grassroots sport and its commitment to challenging gender stereotypes, especially the idea that some disciplines are “for girls” or “for boys”.

Partners

🇵🇹 PORTUGAL: DESI

DES – Desporto para a Educação e Saúde is a Portuguese organisation promoting sport as a tool for education, health and wellbeing. It works to encourage active lifestyles and to make sport more accessible, especially among young people and local communities. Through GENS, DES contributes its experience in sport, education and health promotion to challenge stereotypes and support equal participation in amateur sport.

🇱🇹 LITHUANIA: VSL KARTU

VŠĮ Sportuokime Kartu, meaning “Let’s do sport together”, is a non-profit organisation based in Kaunas, Lithuania. Through its football and dance activities, it works with more than 100 families and promotes healthy lifestyles, social inclusion and active participation. The organisation contributes to GENS with its daily experience in challenging stereotypes around football for girls and dance for boys.

🇮🇹 ITALY: YWCA UCDG

YWCA Italia is part of the international YWCA movement and has a long history of supporting women, young people and local communities. With centres in Rome, Turin and Torre Pellice, it promotes empowerment, inclusion, education and safe community spaces. In GENS, YWCA Italia brings strong expertise in gender equality, youth support and educational approaches to social change.

GENS

"Gender Equality Needs Sport" (GENS) aims to promote equal opportunities in amateur sports by combating gender discrimination within sports associations. Coordinated by ASD VADA BALLIAMO, the project seeks to challenge gender stereotypes and foster inclusive sports environments. Through innovative and practical approaches, GENS equips sports managers and youth workers with the tools needed to promote gender equality at all organizational levels.

The project focuses on providing strategic training and workshops for sports managers to address gender stereotypes in governance, administration, and communication. It also empowers youth workers with methods to promote gender equality during training sessions, fostering inclusive and supportive sports experiences for all participants.

GENS develops educational materials, including booklets and digital content, to spread awareness and share best practices for building inclusive sports communities. By promoting the use of inclusive language and offering guidelines for gender-sensitive training, the project encourages a cultural shift within sports environments.

Aligned with EU priorities on inclusion, diversity, and gender equality, GENS contributes to reducing gender gaps in sports participation across Europe. The project fosters international collaboration among sports associations, generating sustainable and impactful change towards gender equality in amateur sports.

GENS STORYTELLING

BLOG

🇬🇧 GENS Transnational Meeting in Rome: building inclusive sport associations from within

April 2026 🇪🇺 A project co-funded by the European Union During the fourth week of April 2026, Rome hosted the first Transnational Meeting of GENS – Gender Equality Needs Sport, an Erasmus+ Sport project co-funded by the European Union. For three days, the partner organisations came together to work on one of the main goals of the project: helping sport associations fight gender stereotypes not only during training sessions, but also at managerial, organisational and communi

🇬🇧 GENS project officially starts with the Kick-off Meeting

13th Feb 2026 The Erasmus+ Sport project GENS – Gender Equality Needs Sport officially started with its online Kick-off Meeting, bringing together all partner organisations involved in this new European journey dedicated to gender equality, inclusion and equal opportunities in amateur sport. The meeting marked the first important step of the project and allowed partners to align on objectives, activities, responsibilities and expected results. It was also an opportunity to st

🇬🇧 Meet the GENS Team: four European organisations united for equality in sport

A project co-funded by the European Union Every meaningful change starts with people.GENS – Gender Equality Needs Sport brings together four organisations from different European contexts — from coastal villages to large capital cities — all united by a shared mission: make sport a fair, welcoming space for everyone. Different backgrounds, same goal.That’s what makes this partnership strong. 🌍 Who are the GENS partners? 🇮🇹 ASD BALLIAMO (Italy – Project Coordinator) A sport

🇬🇧 Breaking Stereotypes in Sport: understanding gender to build healthier futures

A project co-funded by the European Union Why do so many girls stop playing sport during adolescence?Why is a boy who chooses dance treated differently from a boy who chooses football? The answer lies in gender stereotypes — social expectations that tell us what is “right” for boys and what is “right” for girls.These stereotypes influence confidence, wellbeing, and even long-term life choices. GENS – Gender Equality Needs Sport works to break these barriers from where they or

🇬🇧 GENS – Gender Equality Needs Sport: when sport becomes a safe space to be yourself

A project co-funded by the European Union Across Europe, many unwritten rules still shape our sport environments:“Football is for boys”, “Dance is for girls”, “Boys must be strong”, “Girls must be delicate”. But what happens when these expectations become barriers?What if a young person gives up their passion because someone already decided who they should be? GENS – Gender Equality Needs Sport exists to rewrite this narrative.It is an Erasmus+ Sport initiative co-funded by t