Empower children and young athletes to ensure their safety in sports.
ThinkSport and Terre des hommes is organising a first full-day ideation session to kick off this Youth Sports Safety challenge that will take place on 12 September 2024 in Lausanne (Switzerland) and include various participants from different sectors and backgrounds such as Safeguarding professionals, Child and Young Protection experts, Federations involved or willing to be more involved in the topic, young athletes, coaches, professionals of child participation, researchers, etc. The focus will be on brainstorming and developing innovative ideas to address the Challenge, leveraging the diversity of expertise within the group.
Click here to register before 15 July 2024.
A 2021 European Study on statistics of abuse in sports revealed alarming trends, with 3 out of 4 participants reporting negative experiences, and 1 out of 10 reporting severe abuse. Psychological violence emerged as the most common form of abuse in football, contrasting with contact-sexual violence within the sport. Notably, abuse prevalence varies among countries, emphasising the need for comprehensive safeguarding measures. Challenges in this area include lack of awareness, power dynamics, and inadequate policies.
To address these trends, empowering young athletes in safeguarding efforts is paramount. By educating them about their rights, boundaries, and reporting mechanisms, we not only protect them but also foster inclusive and respectful sporting environments. Furthermore, involving young athletes cultivates a culture of accountability and leadership, ensuring sustained efforts in promoting safety and well-being in sports. Therefore, meaningful engagement with young athletes is crucial for fostering a culture of safety and trust in sports, though it comes with its own set of challenges.
This ideation session taking place on 12 September 2024 is part of the Innovation Booster Sport & Physical Activity powered by the Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse). Its objective is to promote the transfer of knowledge between research, business, and society on a specific topic and foster a culture of open innovation. The ultimate goal is to create a fertile ground for the different actors to collaborate and develop innovative projects in Switzerland.
Participating in this Challenge will be a unique opportunity to:
- Exchange knowledge between participants and learn about the latest trends around the theme.
- Expand your network on the topic and take part in a potentially large-scale project.
- Learn, experiment, and reproduce design thinking techniques.
- Benefit from a priority access in taking part in the following phases (prototyping and post-Booster) for selected ideas.
- Benefit from priority access in developing non-selected ideas on your own.