Four representatives from each organisation will meet in Għajnsielem, Gozo for an introductory project meeting over four days. The objective is to have a series of workshops to kick off the project activities and begin the capacity-building process of exchanging best practices among us, one of the core objectives of our project.
There will also be a seminar for stakeholders and policymakers titled A Multisport Approach to Softball, with Mark Buttigieg M.Ed., UEFA A Coach, giving the keynote address on the benefits of multilateralism for the development of young athletes. Tara Henry, former US College softball player and coach, will talk about her experience as a college athlete and how softball can be empowering to girls as they grow up. Joseph Scicluna, President of the Għajnsielem Redcoats, will talk about why his club went from being a baseball and softball organisation to become a sports club promoting multisport with children. He will also outline the objectives of IGETS with special reference to increasing awareness.
Topics to be discussed shall be:
- Increasing awareness among policymakers and stakeholders of the impact of their decisions on gender inequalities in sports
- Promoting positive female role models in sport through our activities as sports clubs
- Combating negative stereotypes in media about women in sport through our own dissemination efforts and how we work with local sports media
- Increasing the participation rate in softball and other sports, especially that of girls
- A multisport approach at U6 and U9 levels to develop the competences of tomorrow’s athletes – the LTAD approach
- Improving the female ratio of staff in our organisations (coaches, umpires, administrators, etc)