Sport is a universal language that teaches us respect for diversity, fair play, togetherness, and how to deal with life’s obstacles, victories, and defeats. Sportsmen and sportswomen are role models for children and youth and can be our greatest allies to combat discrimination through sports and in sports, to set new rules and become actual agents of change, said Commissioner, Brankica Janković, at the high-level conference “Game Changer: Sport’s role in fighting discrimination” jointly organized in Rome by the European Network of Equality Bodies EQUINET and the National Office for Combating Racial Discrimination of the Republic of Italy UNAR.
The conference placed special emphasis on the role of sport in preventing discrimination against children and youth in schools and the involvement of influential social actors and management structures in changing the paradigm of sport’s role in society, bearing in mind its visibility and influence.
Janković, together with Lorenzo Casini, President of the Italian League Serie A, and Mattia Peradot, coordinator of UNAR, participated in the panel “Associating for inclusive sports: bodies for equality in action”, where she presented the role and good practice of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality in the field of sports. We are incredibly proud of our campaign “Equally to the goal,” which we have been carrying out for 13 years in cooperation with the Sports Association of Persons with Disabilities and the Belgrade Marathon, pointing out the problems of persons with disabilities and at the same time breaking down prejudices about their abilities, said the Commissioner. She also discussed other activities encouraging greater participation and women’s equality in sports. She pointed out that the Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Serbia accepted the Commissioner’s recommendation to include a special section dedicated to developing and improving women’s sports at all levels in the sports development strategy.
In sports, as in life, it is important to feel accepted and to have equal chances, which is why no one who wants to play sports should be left out, Janković concluded.
The conference, which was opened by the Minister of Family, Birth and Equal Opportunities of Italy, Eugenia Roccella, and the Commissioner for Equality of the European Union, Helena Dalli, brought together representatives of equality institutions of European countries and relevant international and European institutions to exchange good practices and strengthen cooperation in the field of promoting equality for women and more often discriminated social groups in sport and through sport.
