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ISLAND ALLIANCE
Connecting islands through sport.
Building stronger communities together.
The ISLAND ALLIANCE is a European network connecting sports organisations, local stakeholders and communities from islands and remote territories.
The Alliance was created within ISLANDS – Inclusive Sports 4 Locals and Nature Development Strategies, an Erasmus+ Sport project bringing together sports organisations from Sardinia (Italy), Ibiza (Spain) and São Miguel – Azores (Portugal).
Throughout the project, we discovered that islands can be very different, but often share similar challenges: geographical isolation, limited opportunities, environmental pressures, barriers to participation and the need to create stronger connections within local communities.
We also discovered something else.
Sport can be part of the answer.
Sports organisations are not only places where people train. They can become community spaces where people meet, participate, learn, feel included and take care of the places where they live.
The ISLAND ALLIANCE was created to keep this cooperation alive and open it to other islands and remote communities across Europe.
Three islands started the journey.
Many more can join.
THE ISLAND ALLIANCE MANIFESTO
Different islands.
Shared challenges. One Alliance.
Living and working on an island means experiencing a territory with its own identity, resources and opportunities, but also specific social and environmental challenges.
During ISLANDS, organisations from Sardinia, Ibiza and São Miguel met, exchanged experiences and explored how sport can contribute to more inclusive, active and sustainable communities.
From this experience, the ISLAND ALLIANCE was born.
We believe that sport can connect people.
We believe that local sports organisations can become important community actors.
We believe that coaches and sport professionals can be educators and agents of change.
And we believe that islands can learn from each other.
OUR MISSION
"To connect sports organisations and stakeholders from islands and remote territories, creating opportunities to share experiences, develop common solutions and use sport as a tool for social inclusion, environmental awareness, active participation and community development."
OUR VALUES
INCLUSION
Sport should create opportunities for everyone.
We promote sporting environments capable of recognising diversity, reducing barriers to participation and involving people with different backgrounds, abilities and opportunities.
COMMUNITY
Sport belongs to the community in which it takes place.
Sports organisations can become spaces for relationships, participation and belonging, connecting people and responding to the needs of their territories.
COOPERATION
An island does not have to face its challenges alone.
Sharing experiences, methodologies and solutions allows organisations from different territories to learn from each other and develop stronger responses.
SUSTAINABILITY
Sport takes place within an environment that must be respected.
We promote activities, events and organisational practices that reduce environmental impact and encourage participants to take care of their territory.
PARTICIPATION
People are not simply beneficiaries of sport.
They can actively contribute to their clubs, neighbourhoods and communities. Sport can create opportunities for participation, responsibility and active citizenship.
OUR OBJECTIVES
CONNECT
sports organisations, local authorities and stakeholders working in island and remote communities.
SHARE
practices, methodologies, experiences and resources that can be adapted and replicated in other territories.
EMPOWER
sports organisations, coaches and instructors to strengthen their role as community actors and agents of change.
PROMOTE
sport as a tool for inclusion, participation, environmental awareness and community development.
CREATE
new opportunities for cooperation, exchanges, local initiatives and future European projects among Alliance members.
OUR COMMITMENT
Members of the ISLAND ALLIANCE share a simple commitment:
Use sport to make our communities stronger.
This means working to make sport more accessible and inclusive; recognising the educational and social role of coaches; promoting responsible relationships with our natural environment; listening to local communities; sharing useful experiences with other territories; and remaining open to cooperation.
The Alliance is not about making every island the same.
It is about helping different islands learn from each other.
FROM ISLAND TO ISLAND
Good Practices & Resources Database
Ideas worth sharing.
The ISLAND ALLIANCE Good Practices Database collects practical ideas, activities and methodologies that can support sports organisations in using sport as a tool for inclusion, participation, environmental awareness and community development.
The practices are designed to be simple, adaptable and replicable in different island and remote contexts.
Each practice can be adapted according to the characteristics of the territory, the organisation and the people involved.
GOOD PRACTICE 01
FLASH & BIKING
SPORT + ENVIRONMENT
THE IDEA
Combine physical activity with the discovery and observation of the local environment.
Participants explore their territory by bike or on foot and use photography to document places, natural elements, environmental challenges and positive examples they encounter along the way.
HOW IT WORKS
Choose a safe walking or cycling route and identify a number of themes connected to the local environment, such as biodiversity, water, tourism, waste, agriculture or protection of natural spaces.
Participants complete the route individually or in small groups and take photographs connected to the selected themes.
At the end of the activity, the images are collected and used as a starting point for discussion.
Selected photographs can also become part of a small exhibition, social media campaign or community awareness initiative.
WHY IT WORKS
Physical activity becomes an opportunity to observe the territory from a different perspective.
Participants are encouraged not only to move through a place, but also to notice what is happening around them.
The activity requires limited resources and can easily be adapted to different ages, sports and territories.
WHAT YOU NEED
A safe route
Smartphones or cameras
Environmental themes or prompts
A space to collect and discuss the photographs
TRY IT ON YOUR ISLAND
Ask participants one simple question:
What can you discover about your island while moving through it?
GOOD PRACTICE 02
THE INCLUSIVE SPORTS CHALLENGE
SPORT + INCLUSION
THE IDEA
Transform traditional sports challenges so that success depends not only on speed, strength or technical ability, but also on cooperation and participation.
Participants with different abilities, experiences and characteristics work together to complete sporting tasks.
HOW IT WORKS
Create heterogeneous teams and prepare a series of simple sporting challenges.
Rules, roles, equipment, distances or objectives can be modified to allow different participants to contribute in different ways.
Some challenges can require cooperation. Others can require communication, coordination or mutual support.
The objective is not simply to complete the activity, but to find a way for every member of the team to have a meaningful role.
WHY IT WORKS
Small changes in rules can completely change who is able to participate.
The activity helps coaches and participants recognise barriers that can otherwise remain invisible in everyday sport.
Different abilities become resources for the team rather than obstacles to participation.
WHAT YOU NEED
Simple sports equipment
A series of short challenges
Mixed teams
Flexible rules
REFLECT
After the activity, ask:
Did everyone have a role?
What made participation easier?
What created a barrier?
What could we change in our regular training?
GOOD PRACTICE 03
COACHES AS AGENTS OF CHANGE
SPORT + COMMUNITY
THE IDEA
Recognise coaches not only as technical instructors, but also as people who can positively influence the sporting and social environments around them.
Coaches interact regularly with athletes, young people, adults and families. The way they communicate, organise activities and respond to differences can influence whether participants feel welcomed, respected and included.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
A coach can:
welcome new participants;
pay attention to who participates and who remains on the margins;
adapt activities when unnecessary barriers appear;
encourage cooperation and mutual respect;
challenge discriminatory behaviour;
listen to participants;
promote responsible behaviour towards the environment;
connect sporting activities with the wider community.
WHY IT WORKS
Community impact does not always require a new programme or a major event.
Training sessions take place regularly and create repeated opportunities to influence behaviours, relationships and attitudes.
Small decisions made by coaches every week can contribute to a more inclusive sporting culture.
ONE MORE QUESTION
At the end of a training session, do not ask only:
“Did participants improve their performance?”
Also ask:
“Did everyone have the opportunity to participate?”
GOOD PRACTICE 04
DESIGNING MORE INCLUSIVE TRAINING
SPORT + PARTICIPATION
THE IDEA
Making sport more inclusive does not necessarily mean creating completely different activities.
Sometimes it means looking differently at the activities that already exist and identifying the barriers that prevent some people from participating fully.
BEFORE TRAINING
Ask:
Who is participating?
Who might be excluded?
Are some rules creating unnecessary barriers?
Does everyone have a meaningful role?
Can the activity offer different levels of difficulty?
Are we rewarding only performance?
DURING TRAINING
Use flexible rules.
Create mixed teams.
Offer different ways to complete the same task.
Alternate competition and cooperation.
Give participants different roles.
Avoid unnecessary elimination from activities.
Create opportunities for participants to support one another.
AFTER TRAINING
Observe participation, not only performance.
Ask participants what worked for them.
Identify barriers.
Change one element before the next session.
THE KEY PRINCIPLE
Do not immediately ask how the participant needs to change.
First ask how the activity can change.
GOOD PRACTICE 05
TOWARDS ZERO-IMPACT SPORTS EVENTS
SPORT + SUSTAINABILITY
THE IDEA
Organise sporting activities and events while reducing unnecessary pressure on the local environment.
This is particularly relevant in island territories, where natural resources, landscapes and ecosystems are often closely connected to community life.
BEFORE THE EVENT
Choose an appropriate location.
Reduce unnecessary printed materials.
Encourage shared or sustainable transport.
Avoid single-use materials whenever possible.
Plan waste collection.
Use reusable equipment.
Work with local suppliers and organisations.
DURING THE EVENT
Make waste and recycling points visible.
Provide clear information to participants.
Respect and protect natural areas.
Avoid leaving permanent materials behind.
Use the event to communicate simple environmental messages.
AFTER THE EVENT
Remove waste and temporary materials.
Check the area used for the activity.
Review what could be improved.
Share sustainable choices with participants and partner organisations.
THE KEY PRINCIPLE
Leave the place as you found it — or better.
A sustainable sports event is not only an event with less environmental impact.
It can also encourage participants to rethink their everyday behaviour.
GOOD PRACTICE 06
SPORT FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
SPORT + ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
THE IDEA
Transform the sports organisation into a space that contributes to the wider life of the community.
Sports clubs bring people together regularly and can create connections between athletes, families, volunteers, schools, associations, public institutions and other local actors.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Open selected activities to the wider community.
Work with schools, associations and local authorities.
Create opportunities for people who do not usually participate in organised sport.
Connect sporting events with local social or environmental issues.
Invite participants to contribute ideas.
Create opportunities for volunteering.
Use sport to bring different groups within the community together.
WHY IT WORKS
The social value of a sports organisation is not determined only by the number of athletes it trains.
It can also be measured through the relationships, opportunities and connections it creates around sport.
THE KEY PRINCIPLE
A strong sports organisation can contribute to a stronger local community.
GOOD PRACTICE 07
COMMUNICATING SPORT FOR IMPACT
SPORT + COMMUNICATION
THE IDEA
Use communication not only to promote activities and results, but also to spread positive behaviours and demonstrate the wider social value of sport.
Everyday activities already contain stories about people, participation, inclusion, community and the environment.
WHAT TO COMMUNICATE
Show people, not only results.
Tell stories of participation and inclusion.
Share simple sustainable behaviours.
Highlight local social and environmental challenges.
Explain why an activity matters to the community.
Give visibility to volunteers and coaches.
Highlight cooperation with local organisations.
Share ideas that other sports organisations can replicate.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
A training session can become a story about inclusion.
A bike ride can become an opportunity for environmental awareness.
A local sporting event can become an invitation to participate.
A coach can become a positive voice within the community.
THE KEY PRINCIPLE
Do not necessarily communicate more.
Give more meaning to what you already communicate.
ISLANDS RESOURCES
The practices above are supported by the resources developed through the ISLANDS project., please check it on: WWW.OLTRENETWORKLAB.COM/ISLANDS
HOW THE ALLIANCE WAS BORN
From three islands to a shared network.
The ISLAND ALLIANCE was not created around a table in a single day.
It emerged progressively from the cooperation developed during the ISLANDS project.
01 — WE STARTED FROM OUR ISLANDS
Sports organisations from Sardinia, Ibiza and São Miguel began by looking at their own territories.
Partners explored environmental and social challenges affecting island and remote communities and discussed the role sport could play in responding to them.
The comparison showed that each island has its own context, but many challenges cross geographical borders.
02 — WE MET IN SÃO MIGUEL
During the ISLANDS Kick-off Meeting in São Miguel, Azores, partners worked together on the environmental and social challenges of remote and island territories.
The meeting created a common starting point for the project and connected these challenges with the role of local sports organisations.
Activities also introduced practical ways of combining physical activity, participation and environmental awareness.
03 — WE MET AGAIN IN IBIZA
During the Transnational Meeting in Ibiza, the focus moved from understanding challenges to exploring possible responses.
Partners worked on diversity education, inclusion, the social role of sports associations and the role of coaches as agents of change.
Good practices were exchanged and participants co-designed inclusive and sustainable sporting activities.
The Inclusive Sports Challenge provided a practical opportunity to explore how rules and activities can be adapted to make participation more accessible.
04 — WE DECIDED TO STAY CONNECTED
The cooperation showed that exchanging experiences between islands had value beyond a single European project.
Partners therefore began the founding process of the ISLAND ALLIANCE, discussing its mission, shared values, objectives and future role.
The Alliance was conceived not as a closed group of project partners, but as a network capable of welcoming other sports organisations and stakeholders from island and remote territories.
05 — WE BROUGHT THE EXPERIENCE HOME
The project continued through local activities in Sardinia, Ibiza and the Azores, bringing the messages and methodologies developed during the international activities into local communities.
These experiences contributed to the development of practical tools and resources that could be shared beyond the original partnership.
06 — WE CREATED A COMMON LEGACY
The experiences of ISLANDS were transformed into resources that can remain available after the end of the project:
the ISLAND ALLIANCE Manifesto;
the Good Practices & Resources Database;
the ISLAND Kit!;
the project educational and communication resources;
and an open mechanism for new organisations to join the network.
This is the foundation of the ISLAND ALLIANCE.
THE FOUNDING MEMBERS
The ISLAND ALLIANCE was established through the cooperation of the three organisations participating in ISLANDS:
ASD ADELANTE
Sardinia, Italy
Project coordinator and founding member of the ISLAND ALLIANCE.
ASOCIACIÓN BALEAR DE TAEKWON-DO
Ibiza, Spain
Project partner and founding member of the ISLAND ALLIANCE.
CATTT – CLUBE AÇORIANO DE TRAIL, TRIATLO E TURISMO
São Miguel, Azores, Portugal
Project partner and founding member of the ISLAND ALLIANCE.
Three organisations.
Three island territories.
One shared starting point.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER ISLANDS?
The project ends. The connection does not have to.
The sustainability of the ISLAND ALLIANCE is based on a simple principle:
keep the network useful and keep it open.
KEEP
The ISLAND ALLIANCE webpage, Manifesto and project resources remain freely available online.
SHARE
Members are encouraged to continue sharing activities, methodologies, tools and experiences that can be useful to other island communities.
GROW
New sports organisations, local authorities and relevant stakeholders from islands and remote territories can join the Alliance.
CONNECT
The network creates a contact point between organisations facing similar challenges in different territories.
CREATE
Connections developed through the Alliance can generate new exchanges, local initiatives, partnerships and future European cooperation projects.
The value of the ISLAND ALLIANCE will not be measured by the number of organisations listed on a webpage.
It will be measured by what those organisations are able to share and create together.
-> JOIN THE ISLAND ALLIANCE
Is your organisation ready to connect with other islands?The ISLAND ALLIANCE is open to sports organisations, local authorities, community organisations and other stakeholders interested in using sport to contribute to more inclusive, active and sustainable communities in island and remote territories.Joining the Alliance means sharing the principles of the ISLAND ALLIANCE Manifesto and being willing to exchange experiences with other members
.BECOME A MEMBER
Tell us:
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Organisation nameIsland / Remote territory Country
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Type of organisation
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Contact person
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Email
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Website / Social media
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What does your organisation do?
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What would you like to share with the ISLAND ALLIANCE?
SHARE A GOOD PRACTICE
To share a practice, tell us:
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TITLE OF THE PRACTICE
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ORGANISATION
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ISLAND / TERRITORY
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CHALLENGE ADDRESSED Inclusion / Participation / Environment / Community / Other
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TARGET GROUP
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WHAT DO YOU DO?
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WHY DOES IT WORK?
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HOW CAN ANOTHER ORGANISATION REPLICATE IT?
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WHAT RESOURCES ARE NEEDED?
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MATERIALS / LINKS