Partners of the Inclusion in Sport (iSport) project gathered on 9th and 10th of November in Thessaloniki, Greece, for the final conference and meeting, to conclude all the results and outputs of 3-year work. The meeting was conducted as a part of the International Conference on Interactive Mobile Communication, Technologies and Learning (IMCL), hosted by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), one of the project’s partners.

The Inclusion in Sport (iSport) project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, concluded its three-year mission to advance inclusion in sports with this final two-day event. The main goal of iSport is to enhance diversity and social inclusion in sports. It aims to improve the sporting experience for everyone involved, with a special focus on women, LGBT+ persons, people with disabilities and individuals of all ages. The project also seeks to ensure equal opportunities and raise awareness about the benefits of physical activity for overall health.

On November 9th, project partners took part in the IMCL conference. The gathered audience was greeted by Michael E. Auer from CTI Global, Dimitrios Koveos, Rector of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hara Charalambous, Dean of the Faculty of Science of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Panagiotis Katsaros, Director of the Software, Hardware and Foundations Sector, School of Informatics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

During the day, partners of the project attended many engaging and inspiring sessions about digital technologies for health and sport, the impact of artificial intelligence on life and education, and gamification and its use.

Part of the IMCL Conference was specifically dedicated to the topic of Inclusion in Sports and the iSport project. The session started with a welcome address and short introduction, held by Stella Douka from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

The Inclusion in Sport session continued with a presentation Ensuring health lives and promoting sports for individuals with disabilities, conducted by Christina Evaggelinou from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Ms Evaggelinou shared some good practices and ideas on how to promote sports for individuals with disabilities.

Sarah Townsend from the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF) challenged the audience with her presentation "Gender equality - Are we there yet?". Her contribution looked mainly at gender inequalities in sports based on the Olympics Games and historical events, making the audience better understand the disproportion in this field.

EUSA representative and iSport project manager Andrej Pisl shared with the audience the fundamental principles of the project, its objectives, and the activities undertaken throughout its duration. Moreover, during the presentation, the gathered attendees became familiar with the intellectual outputs - resources, developed as part of the project.

The last presentation was done by Lampros Karavidas from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Mr Karavidas presented a case study of the iSport game, which was a part of the project’s outputs, and explained the role of educational technology.

The session finished with a panel discussion about the organization of inclusive, diverse and large-scale sports events. The panelists were representatives from project partners’ organizations from various countries: Christina Evaggelinou from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - AUTH (Greece), Hristina Hristova from EUSA Institute (Slovenia), Marianna Pikul from University Sports Association of Poland - AZS (Poland), Sara Townsend from the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation - EGLSF (Netherlands), and Noemi Fluixa from Panteres Grogues Sports Club (Spain). The panel was moderated by Andrej Pisl from EUSA.

Speakers shared with the audience their good practice examples, as well as experience gained during different inclusive sports events, also sharing their views on the importance of specific events for different excluded groups, such as women or LGBTQ+ individuals. To conclude the discussion, the final question was asked if full inclusion in sport is an ideal, illusion or can be realised. The panelists showed their positive approach to the changes that are currently taking place in a sports environment, maintaining hope for a better tomorrow in the world of inclusive sport.

The day ended with an official dinner, where the IMCL Conference celebrated their 15th anniversary.

On November 10th, Inclusion in Sport (iSport) project partners met for the final in-person meeting to conclude the work and administrative steps. In the meeting, representatives from all the partner organizations discussed the outputs of the project, such as case studies, MOOC, the iSport game and recommendations. The last assignments were allotted, which will lead the project to its finalization at the end of the year.

The project consortium consists of eight partners from eight countries, led by the EUSA Institute (SLO). Project partners include: Panteres Grogues Sports Club (ESP), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - AUTH (GRE), Finnish Paralympic Committee - FPC (FIN), University Sports Association of Poland - AZS (POL), European Paralympic Committee -  EPC (AUT), European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation - ENGSO (SWE) and European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation - EGLSF (NED). The project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

For more information and to access the resources developed in the project, please see: isporteurope.eu/resources