The GETZ gender equality conference, was successfully held online on April 22, within the 2021 Women in Sport & Exercise (WISE) conference, entitled "Redressing the Balance".

Over 600 participants from several countries registering for the WISE conference also had a chance to get an overview of the Gender Equality Toolkit for Generation Z – GETZ project, the resources developed within the 3-year project, the experiences gained by the partnership consortium, as well as get insights from keynote speakers and student representatives.



The event was hosted by the University of Worcester, project coordinator of the project, and the conference started with the welcome and introduction by Mr Mick Donovan, Head of School of Sport and Exercise Science ahead of the first keynote speaker Ms Maggie Alphonsi, international rugby player, broadcaster and journalist, sharing her story and giving inputs on creating a winning mindset. The main coordinator of the GETZ project Ms Vanessa Jones from the University of Worcester then presented the project, reflection and main outcomes.



In the next session, dedicated to GETZ working in partnership and developing the toolkit, Ms Beth Burgess from the University of Worcester presented on educating and engaging generation Z through a massive open online course (MOOC), the characteristics of the generation and adaptations of the resources. Ms Hebe Schaillee and Ms Inge Derom, from the Free University Brussels presented outcomes of the research on what do Gen Z students know and don’t know about gender inequality in sports. The session concluded by the experiences of the leadership and governance seminar and reflections from the sport sector by Ms Alma Papic from the Croatian Olympic Committee.



The conference continued with the next session, themed Disseminating, Monitoring and Evaluating GETZ. Mr Ola Svensson from the Swedish Sports Confederation presented the overall communication, dissemination and sustainability of the GETZ project. Dissemination activities through the student sport body in Europe was presented by Ms Sara Rozman and Mr Andrej Pisl, representing the European University Sports Association and the EUSA Institute. GETZ project monitoring and student involvement was presented by Ms Solveig Straume and Mr Oskar Solenes from the Molde University College, and the session concluded by the insights into the learning gains of the GETZ MOOC – evaluation, impact and intentions by Mr Sam Geijer from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science.



A crucial input on the topic was given in the student seminar in form of a round table discussion on Generation Z and exploring the issues of gender equality in sport. The young representatives shared their experiences in the field of gender equality in sport, as well as their findings through the project. The panel was composed by Ms Beth Burgess, GETZ research assistant and PhD student at the University of Worcester, Ms Maria Hendar, BSc (Hons) Student at the Umea University, Ms Seada Saldic, Masters Graduate of the Molde University College, Ms Tiphaine Clerincx, masters student of the Free University Brussels, Ms Anna Edes, chair of the student commission of the European University Sport Association and Ms Nika Jukic, Graduate of the University of Zagreb.



The last keynote speech You cannot be neutral – addressing issues of gender equity in sport for future generations was given by Mr Havard Ovregard, Senior adviser in the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, sharing his experiences and highlighting the importance of tackling the issue as individuals, sports organisation and society in general.



The conference came to an end with the Closing Remarks by generation Z representatives Ms Beth Burgess, Ms Seada Šaldic and Ms Maria Hendar, and the project coordinator Ms Vanessa Jones, each sharing their findings and giving an outlook on the next steps.

To find more information about the project and get access to the free online resources on the topic of gender equality and equity in sport, please visit www.getzproject.eu.



GETZ is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, coordinated by the University of Worcester (GBR), in cooperation with project partners: Molde University College (NOR), Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (NED), Vrije Universiteit Brussels (BEL), Swedish Sports Confederation (SWE), Croatian Olympic Committee (CRO), and the EUSA Institute (SLO).