SIMS Project kick-off in Verona - promoting sport inclusion in media

From 6-8 March, ENAIP NET hosted the first transnational meeting of the SIMS project in their Verona headquarters. The participants reviewed the sections of the initiative and defined the work plan for the coming months.

Led by España se Mueve, SIMS (Sport Inclusion Media Seal) is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission. It is a 30-month project that will focus mainly on the promotion, through dissemination/communication, of social inclusion, diversity and equal opportunities through sport.

The origin of this project comes from an already completed Erasmus+ project "Europe is Moving: Sport inclusion through media" (EiM 1.0), which aimed to obtain a snapshot on the level of media involvement in the field of social inclusion and equal opportunities through sport and physical activity. The research conducted confirmed that media involvement is, in general, almost non-existent.

SIMS aims to respond to these identified needs by bringing together two of the main stakeholders: on the one hand, the media and, on the other hand, the organizations that promote and develop inclusive sport activities and events (inclusive sport organisations).

A European seal will be created to recognize those media that report on social inclusion and equal opportunities through sport and, especially, those that in addition to being informers have become promoters in this field.

The seal will function as a tool to be used to increase their commitment and provide training to broaden knowledge, skills/techniques and values. In this way they will increase the coverage of the actions implemented by inclusive sport entities and become promoters of social inclusion and equal opportunities through sport.

SIMS has the most international outstanding entities in each of the areas related to the project: press, sport for all, inclusion and education/training/certification. All of them have outstanding networks that will ensure a huge impact at European and even global level.
Besides TAFISA, the partners of the SIMS project are:

• Coordinator: Instituto España se Mueve (IEsM). It is a non-profit association created in 2014 with the aim of promoting sport, health, social inclusion and "sport for all". To carry out its mission, it develops all kinds of actions (sporting events, congresses, seminars, conferences, training education, advice/consulting...) at all levels (local, regional, national and international). Although it works on all these actions, the main field of action is communication, in order to inform, raise awareness and promote. EsM has the largest media network in Spain focused on sport/inclusion/health, with both online and offline platforms. In addition, one of its strengths is the creation of outreach campaigns related to physical activity. EsM connects all the actors/prescribers of sport/health/inclusion, working with each of them individually and also launching projects that bring them all together. These prescribers are the ones who in turn aim to "move" society and citizens.
• Partner: ENAIP (Italy): is one of the largest Italian consortia of VET providers working on international projects, with a global turnover (2018) of €100 M, 1,400 employees (and 2,600 external collaborators), 89 training centers and more than 40,000 students - young and adult - per year. The ENAIP NET consortium operates in the following fields, nationally and internationally: vocational training, employment services and innovation and development. They are experts in VET/certification processes and have an important dissemination and impact activity through their network.
• Partner: AIPS (Switzerland): The International Sports Press Association (AIPS) is the peak professional body representing international sports media, with over 9,500 members, 4 continental sections and 160 national associations as well as international sports federations. They are experts in sports press and the most important organization in Europe and the world in this field. They have an outstanding broadcasting activity and impact through their network.
• Partner: EASPD (Belgium): EASPD - European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities - is a broad European network with 180 members and observers from 41 countries representing around 20,000 services across Europe and across disabilities. The main objective of the EASPD is to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities through effective and high-quality service systems. EASPD and its members are committed to using and developing models of good practice to promote respect, inclusion, rights based effective participation and full citizenship for the people they support, following the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They are experts in inclusion and constitute the most important entity in Europe in their field. They have an important dissemination and impact activity through their network.