Bright Up Agency’s Post

An anti-racism call to action for all football and sports fans. Read our The Three Hijabis statement and let us know what anti-racism awareness raising and action you are committing to during and after the ‘Summer of Sport’….👇🏽 ⚽️⚽️⚽️ The ‘Summer of Sport’ kicks off today (Friday 14th June), with the Euros in Munich, with Germany v Scotland, and later next month, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, as France goes into a snap general election in an attempt to stem the tide of the far-right. The latter, a symptom of widespread division, discontent and devastation across the world. And then there’s the transformative power of the beautiful game, football, and sport. An antidote bringing people and communities together - to harness hope and change, and to remind us of what we, humans, are capable of. The Olympics are being held in France, a country where Muslim women who wear the hijab are banned from participating in sport, public and political life, in the name of protecting France’s secular values. So when the powers that run global sport tell you that “sport isn’t political”, don’t believe them. Sports and the Olympic Games are deeply political and speak to the power imbalances and legacies of colonialism,  loot and plunder that have shaped Europe and the Western world. So, what should anti-racist and pro justice football fans expect from the Euros in particular? #euros24 #olympics #sport #transformation #equality #equity #communities #power #hope #joy Amna Abdullatif (She/her/hers) Huda Jawad The Three Hijabis

Three Hijabis statement and call for anti-racism action and solidarity, during the ‘Summer of Sport’ 14th June 2024 ⚽️ The ‘Summer of Sport’ kicks off today (Friday 14th June) with the Euros in Munich, with Germany v Scotland, and later next month, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, as France goes into a snap general election in an attempt to stem the tide of the far-right. The latter , a symptom of widespread division, discontent and devastation across the world. And then there’s the transformative power of the beautiful game, football and sport. An antidote bringing people and communities together - to harness hope and change, and to remind us of what we, human, are capable of. The Olympics are being held in France, a country where Muslim women who wear the hijab are banned from participating in sport, public and political life, in the name of protecting France’s secular values. So when the powers that run global sport tell you that “sport isn’t political”, don’t believe them. Sports and the Olympic Games are deeply political and speak to the power imbalances and legacies of colonialism, loot and plunder that have shaped Europe and the Western world. We also know that throughout history, sport has empowered people and enabled collective healing in and across disenfranchised communities. So, what should anti-racist and pro justice football fans expect from the Euros in particular? If the media coverage of the England v Iceland game is anything to go by, we are expecting a further mainstreaming of racism and specifically anti-Blackness and Islamophobia. Look at the shameful abuse of Saka after England lost 1-0 to Iceland. Saka was a substitute coming on to play for for 25 mins before the end of the game. Despite this - sections of the infamous UK newspapers ran hysterical racist headlines blaming Saka for England’s defeat leading to ex-footballer lan Wright writing on X: https://lnkd.in/e8cbWkFW This is of course the same Saka who along with Sancho and Rashford, was subjected to grotesque on and offline racist abuse at the last Euros in 2021, delayed by covid and held in London in the backdrop of a global pandemic, with a reinvigorated global Black Lives Matter movement, following the racist murder of George Floyd at the hands of a servicing US police officer. Floyd was killed on camera, his final breaths telling the world “I can’t breathe” as a white police officer pushed down his knee on his neck. The footage was broadcast to a stunned world. In 2021, we launched a 1.2M strong signature petition calling on the Football Association, tech companies and the government to ban racists from football for life. Read our full statement here: https://lnkd.in/e7sTuKzH #euros24 #olympics #sport #antiracism Amna Abdullatif (She/her/hers) Huda Jawad Shaista Aziz

Our recent project: ‘𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻’, recently convened in Gent marking another milestone in our journey towards inclusive sports governance. A heartfelt thanks to our partners in Belgium Pro League & Royal Belgian Football Association 🇧🇪 in France LFP - Ligue de Football Professionnel & FFF - Fédération Française de Football 🇫🇷 and Germany DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga & DFB 🇩🇪 as well as national disabled supporters associations from each country (#Inter, #FFSFH and #BBAG respectively) for their unwavering commitment and our partner University, Universidade Europeia (ENSILIS). Together, we're integrating disabled fans' feedback into national sports strategies, a mission that began in January 2021. The Gent workshop, following sessions in Paris and Frankfurt, was the culmination of our collaborative efforts. The group went into the insights from a second disabled supporters survey 📊, thanks to #ENSILIS, and discussed the tangible progress made and the challenges that remain. 🧑🦽Kudos to KAA Gent for showcasing their accessible facilities and to LFP - Ligue de Football Professionnel for their initiatives to enhance matchday experiences for disabled fans in France. 💼 As we shared experiences and best practices, the value of our knowledge-sharing platform became abundantly clear. Seeing these practices in action has sparked innovative solutions that partners are eager to implement back home. Looking ahead, we're excited for the upcoming multiplier event and the final project report. Stay tuned for more updates, and a big shout-out to my team at CAFE. Well done Hollie Wilson, Amy Wilson, and Rijul Sharda and all project participants for their dedication to this cause. 📢 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗯, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗣𝗥 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂! 📢 #AccessibALL #TotalAccess #Inclusion #Governance #ErasmusPlus #Accessibility #SportInclusion #GoodGovernance #CommunityEngagement

Next crucial step forward to #RR2025

Being part of a community, and gathering in person can save lives. Research suggests that social capital (the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively) leads to outcomes like higher trust, an increased sense of connection, better individual wellbeing, and as a result, longer life expectancy*. Festival for the Future (FFF) is a community characterised by pragmatic optimism. This is because it's an event built on intergenerational connection. Festival participants span all ages and backgrounds. They are hungry for a future that is as diverse as it is collective and as purposeful as it is impactful. And they're up for being put on the spot for a dance battle (shoutout to Ben from Create Now, pictured). Last year we worked with Guy Ryan, Katie Trott, and the wider Inspiring Stories team to help translate FFF's values into storytelling opportunities to help champions like Tory Whanau and Quack Pirihi grow the community. This year, we're attending as participants to recharge and find resources for the second half of 2024. After a year that started with conversations where we asked, "is this going to be a harder year than the one the economy shut down for two months so we could stop the spread?", we need to constantly find reframes. And this is the event to do it. Whether you're young or old, fill your cup at Festival. It's happening next Wednesday and Thursday (July 17tn and 18th) at the TSB Arena in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) and there are tickets still available. Hope to see you there. 😊 Tickets at ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gitxZtE *https://lnkd.in/gGJc_SME #FFTF24 #FestivalForTheFuture #ForwardThinking #Changemakers

We went to our first Bundesliga game the other day – me (55), my eldest son (25) – and had a brilliant time. FC Koln might be near the bottom of the German league and might have lost the game, but the singing and flag waving didn’t stop, the fans organised their own displays and tidied them up afterwards, and home and away fans mingled seemingly happily. I’m sure there are problems, but they seemed very hidden to us that evening.   The whole thing felt like a community event - that everyone had come together to enjoy the simple pleasure of being together. That seemed to be the purpose, over and above winning, and certainly over and above maximising revenue. That community purpose also seemed to be behind the carefully organised (and tidied up) protest in the second half, when tennis balls and remote-control cars were thrown onto the pitch. The protest was part of a co-ordinated campaign to stop the German football league’s plans to sell a €1bn stake in its media rights income to a private equity firm.   Bundesliga clubs are subject to a ’50 + 1’ rule that gives club members (essentially the fans) a controlling interest in their teams. This might well prevent the Bundesliga competing with the English Premier League for revenue in the form of nation state and private equity investment. And it maybe acts as a brake on greater competition between the clubs. But German footballers aren’t particularly poorly paid, and German fans certainly seem to enjoy their football.  Maybe more fans of more clubs can if the greater purpose is coming together rather than winning the league, when only one team can.   Their protest worked and last week the German League announced that it was dropping the private equity plan.   German football isn’t perfect (although the German manager in Liverpool is), but it does show that there are alternative approaches to simply maximising revenue, and the enjoyment and sustainability of a different purpose – to encourage the joy of community – can be just as rewarding, if not more so. https://lnkd.in/epsEkcM5

🕊️💪 Join us as we mark the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace! Beyond mere competition, sport is a dynamic force propelling positive change, igniting community development and fostering social transformation. Today, we're honored to spotlight the incredible work of “Knockout: do not give up”, a Mexican initiative by RED VIRAL A.C. championing the rehabilitation of inmates through boxing! hashtag #SportsDay 🥊 At "Knockout: do not give up", it's more than just punches; it's about empowering individuals within prison walls, providing them with vital life skills for their journey back into society, while reducing antisocial and violent behaviors through the practice of boxing and emotional care. With 9 years experience, this program has yielded excellent, enduring results. 🚀 "Knockout: do not give up" is part of our Scale-up program (SCUP), an accelerator that mobilizes resources from within our Secretariat and our world-class community to help strengthen and grow solutions to amplify their impact. Find out more about Knockout ➡️ bit.ly/3vI9QQ8

With Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer calling for the The Football Association to ban trans women from the game, this week’s Football v Transphobia Week of Action has never been more important. Did you know that in recent years there has been an explosion in the number of explicitly trans & non-binary inclusive women’s teams? Cis women, many of whom are queer, want to play in inclusive environments where everyone is welcomed, valued, respected, where they feel like they truly belong & are supported to achieve their best. Creating spaces where trans and non-binary people are welcome means that inclusion of everyone is a more conscious process, and this can benefit cis women too. We now have regular inclusive leagues in Bristol, London, Manchester and Liverpool. Last season PRIDE SPORTS UK & Manchester Laces launched an inclusive football festival, Ball Together Now. We welcomed 32 teams to Manchester for a great weekend of football & fun. This year we have increased our format to include 60 teams & we still have teams on our waiting list!! Trans inclusion isn’t detrimental to the women’s game, it’s helping the growth of the women’s game. Of course many trans women want to play in affiliated teams and go through the FA’s trans policy & this should also be celebrated. Research shows that trans women are much less likely than cis women to take part in organised sport, and with the rise in transphobic rhetoric this situation is only likely to be getting worse. If this were any other minority group, the sport & physical activity sector would be considering barriers to participation and how to tackle them. It’s time to stop seeing trans women as a threat to our sport and look at the real issues. Team sports have huge benefits in terms of friendships, camaraderie, reduction of isolation, mental wellbeing and, of course physical health. Can we afford to leave trans women, and trans people more widely, behind?

During 2023, we have sponsored over 20 associations or sport clubs which have energized thousands of children or young people. By doing so we are paving the way for a better tomorrow for future generations. With the support received from us, local associations and sport clubs can arrange competitions, and let memberships be free of charge. Or like in Timrå, Sweden, where our support makes it possible for local Timrå IK (sports club) to work for more togetherness, inclusion, and physical activity. 💬 “Sponsorships are as valuable to us as they are for the local society. By sponsoring activities in our local societies, we want to contribute to a healthier, safer, and more sustainable society,” says Mia Sipilä-Heikura, SVP Marketing & Communications at Adven. 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dbGB3zSX #sponsorship #children #society #makinganimpact

Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Joint statement by Eurodiaconia and Fédération de l'Entraide Protestante (FEP) The Olympics are meant to be a celebration of humanity, unity, and respect for all values that we endorse. Hosting the Games provides an opportunity to leave behind a lasting positive social legacy by reflecting on the existing socio-economic inequalities and addressing them with long-term structural solutions. Regrettably, similarly to previous editions, there is a lack of coherence between the political rhetoric and the policies implemented, which conceal rather than support persons in vulnerable situations, perpetuating cycles of marginalization and social exclusion. Read our joint statement here: https://shorturl.at/ilvZP