On March 6-8, ENAIP NET hosted the first transnational meeting of the SIMS project at its headquarters in Verona. Participants reviewed individual parts of the initiative and agreed on a work plan for the coming months.
Led by España se Mueve, the SIMS (Sport Inclusion Media Seal) project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission. It is a 30-month project that will focus mainly on promoting, through dissemination/communication, social inclusion, diversity and equal opportunities through sport.
The genesis of this project stems from the already completed Erasmus+ project “Europe is Moving: Sport inclusion through media” (EiM 1.0), which aimed to get a snapshot of the level of media involvement in the field of social inclusion and equal opportunities through sport and physical activity. The conducted research confirmed that media involvement is almost non-existent in general.
SIMS aims to respond to these identified needs by bringing together two main stakeholders: on the one hand, the media and, on the other hand, organizations that promote and develop inclusive sports activities and events (inclusive sports organizations).
The European Seal will be created to recognize those media that report on social inclusion and equal opportunities through sport, and in particular those that, in addition to being informants, have become promoters in this field.
The seal will function as a tool to increase their engagement and provide training to enhance their knowledge, skills/techniques and values. In this way, they will increase the scope of activities carried out by inclusive sport actors and become promoters of social inclusion and equal opportunities through sport.
SIMS has the most international eminent actors in each of the areas related to the project: press, sport for all, integration and education/training/certification. All of them have outstanding networks that will ensure a huge impact at European and even global level.
In addition to TAFISA, the partners of the SIMS project are:
- Coordinator: Instituto España se Mueve (IEsM). It is a non-profit association created in 2014 to promote sport, health, social inclusion and “sport for all”. To fulfill its mission, it develops all kinds of activities (sports events, congresses, seminars, conferences, training, advice/consultation…) at all levels (local, regional, national and international). While it works on all these activities, the main field of action is communication, to inform, raise awareness and promote. ESM has the largest media network in Spain focused on sport/inclusion/health, with online and offline platforms. In addition, one of its strengths is the creation of information campaigns related to physical activity. ESM brings together all sports/health/inclusion actors/professionals, working with each one individually as well as launching projects that bring them all together. These prescribing doctors are those 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 million, 1,400 employees (and 2,600 external collaborators), 89 training centers and over 40,000 students – young and adults – annually. The ENAIP NET consortium operates in the following national and international areas: vocational training, employment services, and innovation and development. They are experts in VET/certification processes and carry out important dissemination and impact activities through their network.
- Partner: AIPS (Switzerland): The International Sports Press Association (AIPS) is the largest professional organization representing international sports media, with over 9,500 members, 4 continental sections and 160 national associations and international sports federations. They are experts in the sports press and the most important organization in Europe and in the world in this field. They have excellent broadcasting activity and influence through their network.
- Partner: EASPD (Belgium): EASPD – European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities – is a broad European network of 180 members and observers from 41 countries representing around 20,000 services across Europe and with different types of disabilities. The main objective of the EASPD is to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities through effective and high-quality service systems. The EASPD and its members are committed to using and developing models of good practice to promote respect, inclusion, effective rights-based participation and full citizenship for those they support, in line with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They are experts in inclusion and are the most important player in Europe in their field. They carry out important dissemination and impact activities through their network.
