Ministry of Sport supports the fairplay service point for another three years

The fairplay initiative for diversity and anti-discrimination was founded at VIDC in 1997 (then called "FairPlay. Many colors. One game.") and celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. Soon after the party in June, planning began for activities starting in April 2023, because the three-year project funding from the Ministry of Sport expired in March.

After intensive and constructive discussions, the fairplay team submitted the new funding application to the responsible department in the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Public Service and Sports (BMKÖS) in March. We are very pleased that this was approved and that the "fairplay Service Agency Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights" will be funded for the period from April 2023 to March 2026.

Inclusive nature of sport

The current government program (2020-2024) clearly emphasizes the inclusive character of sport. Particularly positive is the commitment to the joint fight against racism and homophobia, to more sustainable major sporting events and the plans for equality in sport. The establishment of a network of integration promoters in sports clubs is also an important project. With the planned measures in the area of diversity, inclusion and human rights in sport, the fairplay service point will make an indispensable contribution to this.

Core tasks and measures that are in demand by domestic sports organizations and have proven successful will, of course, be continued and expanded by the fairplay initiative. In addition, the following focal points will characterize our work in the next three project years:

• fairplay education: The educational offering is aimed at a broad target audience and specifically addresses their needs. In interactive formats - including workshops for children, adolescents and young adults, training courses for sports clubs, seminars for multipliers, training courses and camps for active and future workshop leaders, and tour stations in public spaces - we convey content and skills in the areas of sustainable development, anti-discrimination, social inclusion, diversity and human rights.
• Major sporting events: In 2024, several (major) sports events will take place globally: the World Swimming Championships in Doha, Qatar, the World Ski Flying Championships in Bad Mitterndorf/Kulm, the Summer Olympics in Paris, the EuroGames in Vienna, or the European Football Championships in Germany. This year, the focus will therefore be on the connection between human rights and major sporting events.
  We place a special focus on the EuroGames 2024 Vienna, which will take place under the motto #EmbraceDiversity! from July 17-20, 2024 in Vienna. The fairplay initiative will help shape the content and actively contribute measures and expertise in the area of homophobia, gender diversity and LGBTIQ in sport, as well as organizing its own events as part of the Erasmus+ project Sport for all Genders and Sexuality.

• Amateur & grassroots sports: Discrimination (racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, etc.) still happens every day in amateur and grassroots sports and usually remains inconsequential and invisible. Discriminatory behavior is not sanctioned or even recognized or addressed. Many people, above all children and young people, are thus denied or denied the opportunity to participate in active sports, since respectful interaction is not given. A survey of amateur sports in Austria is intended to shed light on experiences of discrimination in order to present the problem vividly and with data, and thus to be able to address it in a more targeted manner.
  Furthermore, a needs analysis for Vienna will be conducted to determine which social groups (women/girls, migrants, refugees) have access to which sports facilities and to what extent there is fair participation and distribution of spatial resources.

Expertise and mediation between organized sports and sports initiatives

The fairplay initiative was founded in 1997 as an anti-racism campaign in Austrian soccer and developed over the years into a broad-based organization for diversity, anti-discrimination, inclusion & human rights in all of sport. As a service and competence center, the fairplay initiative is a "think tank" and in dialogue with Austrian sports. Especially in a heterogeneous (migration) society, the bundling and transfer of expertise and knowledge is more important than ever to enable respectful coexistence.

Accordingly, fairplay has been a member of many relevant working groups in the field of sport over the past few years and continues to be active: in the Working Group on Sport and Integration (co-founding and collaboration until 2021), the Working Group on the Prevention of Sexualized Violence (until 2022), the Working Group on Sport and Human Rights (founding and coordination), and the Working Group on Gender and Sexual Diversity in Sport (founding and coordination), which was established by fairplay at the beginning of 2023, and which works together with the various sports players in organized and unorganized sport on topics related to sport in a productive manner. fairplay sees itself as a mediator between organized sports and sports initiatives outside the umbrella organization structure as well as civil society actors. In addition, fairplay project coordinator Nikola Staritz is a member of the Austrian Commission for Mass Sports.

Since our foundation 26 years ago, the Sports Section has been a continuous partner and sponsor of the fairplay initiative.

The project "fairplay Service Agency Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights" runs from April 2023 to March 2026 and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport (BMKÖS).