The STIGMA OUT partnership: working together for youth mental health through sport

November 2025

The Erasmus+ Sport project STIGMA OUT is built on a strong and diverse European partnership, bringing together organisations with different backgrounds, experiences and areas of expertise.

The project involves sports associations, youth organisations and mental health professionals, all united by a common objective: to strengthen the role of sport as a tool to support young people’s mental wellbeing and to reduce the stigma associated with mental health problems.

Through this cooperation, STIGMA OUT aims to create a shared European approach in which sport is not only seen as physical activity, but also as a space for inclusion, prevention, education and community support.

A partnership based on complementary skills

The strength of the STIGMA OUT partnership lies in the complementarity of its members. Each organisation brings a specific contribution to the project: experience in grassroots sport, work with young people, psychological support, non-formal education, inclusion and European cooperation.

This diversity allows the project to address youth mental health from different perspectives. On one side, sports organisations offer direct experience with young people in training environments, local communities and group activities. On the other side, mental health professionals contribute technical knowledge, educational content and guidance on how to approach sensitive issues in a responsible and effective way.

Together, the partners will work to create practical tools, communication materials, training activities and local events that can help sports associations become more aware, prepared and inclusive.

ASD Tufello Combat: the project coordinator

The coordinator of STIGMA OUT is ASD Tufello Combat, an Italian sports association based in the Tufello district of Rome.

Founded in 2012, the association was created to continue and structure the experience of the Palestra Popolare Valerio Verbano, born in 2008 as a community-based sports space in a neighbourhood with strong social needs and limited opportunities for youth aggregation.

Over the years, ASD Tufello Combat has become much more than a sports club. It is a local point of reference for children, young people and adults, offering sport as a tool for education, solidarity, mutual support and social inclusion.

The association promotes several disciplines, including kickboxing, full contact, karate, kung fu, capoeira, women’s artistic gymnastics and pilates. Its work is rooted in the idea that sport can become a space where people feel welcomed, respected and supported.

This experience makes ASD Tufello Combat particularly suitable to coordinate a project like STIGMA OUT. The association works every day with young people and understands how important it is for coaches, trainers and volunteers to recognise the emotional and psychological needs of the communities they serve.

APS ETNA: mental health expertise and support for vulnerable groups

APS ETNA – Progetto di Etnopsicologia Analitica is an Italian association specialising in psychological distress, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups, adolescents and people with a migrant background.

Since its early activities, ETNA has worked in the fields of information, training, psychological support and intercultural psychotherapy. Over the years, the association has developed strong experience in schools, promoting psychological counselling and working with students and teachers.

Within STIGMA OUT, ETNA brings an essential contribution: technical expertise in mental health. Its role is particularly important because the project deals with sensitive topics such as anxiety, depression, stigma, social isolation and youth wellbeing.

Thanks to its professional background, ETNA will help the partnership approach these issues with care, competence and responsibility. Its experience will support the development of educational materials, awareness-raising content and activities aimed at helping sports operators better understand young people’s mental health needs.

VŠĮ Sportuokime Kartu: sport, families and community wellbeing

VŠĮ Sportuokime Kartu is a non-profit organisation based in Kaunas, Lithuania. Its name means “Let’s do sport together”, reflecting the organisation’s mission to promote sport, physical activity and healthy lifestyles within the community.

The organisation works with more than 100 families through its football school, dance school and other sport-based activities. Its work focuses on children, young people and families, creating opportunities for participation, socialisation and personal development.

VŠĮ Sportuokime Kartu promotes sport as a way to build healthy habits, positive relationships and inclusive group dynamics. The organisation also works on topics such as equal participation, respect, gender inclusion and the wellbeing of each individual within the group.

Its experience with team sports, youth activities and community engagement will be highly valuable for STIGMA OUT, especially in the development of practical sport-based activities that can support young people’s mental wellbeing.

ATIC: youth participation, inclusion and European experience

Asociația Tinerilor cu Inițiativă Civică – ATIC is a Romanian youth organisation active in the field of social inclusion, non-formal education and European projects.

ATIC works with children and young people from difficult backgrounds, including young people from care homes, families facing economic difficulties, unemployed people and individuals experiencing social challenges.

The organisation uses sport, cultural activities and recreational initiatives as tools to support personal development, social integration and active participation. Its work is especially relevant in local and rural communities, where opportunities for young people can be more limited.

ATIC has strong experience in Erasmus+ projects and non-formal education methods. This expertise will support STIGMA OUT in the design and implementation of participatory workshops, local activities and awareness-raising initiatives.

Through its contribution, ATIC will help ensure that the project remains practical, inclusive and accessible to young people and local communities.

Working together for a common goal

The STIGMA OUT partnership brings together four organisations from different European countries and sectors, each contributing a specific perspective to the project.

This cooperation will allow the partners to exchange good practices, learn from each other and develop shared tools that can be used beyond the project itself.

The partnership is united by a common belief: young people need safe spaces where they can grow, express themselves and feel supported. Sports associations can become these spaces, but only if their staff, coaches and volunteers are equipped with the right awareness and tools.

Through STIGMA OUT, the partner organisations will work together to promote a new culture in grassroots sport: one that recognises mental health as an essential part of wellbeing, reduces stigma and helps young people feel less alone.

The project partnership represents the first step of this European journey: a collaboration based on sport, inclusion, mental health and the shared responsibility to create better environments for young people.