CARDET participated in the two-day online multiagency workshop its project ACTIVE organized on the 14th and 15th of October for the exchange of knowledge, experiences and good practices on the prevention of violence against children in sports and leisure activities.
The workshop was attended by 25 representatives of sports, social and child protection organizations from Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Scotland and Portugal and served as an excellent opportunity for the discussion of challenges and effective approaches in the field.
The workshop mainly focused on the transfer of know-how from Scottish organizations and, during its workings representatives of Sportscotland, Rangers Football Club, Scottish Rugby Union, Scottish Curling, Scottish Swimming presented the policies and processes they have put into place to safeguard the rights and security of children in sport and leisure organizations. Moreover, the implementing team of ACTIVE informed participants about the findings of the project’s Needs Assessment Research and presented ACTIVE’s Online Self-Assessment Tool, which aims to help sports organizations assess their child protection policies, was introduced and discussed.
During the workshop, the need to enhance the skills of coaches in managing violence against children, to better evaluate child protection policies implemented by sports organizations and to create synergies between sports and government agencies were highlighted. All stakeholders agreed that sports organizations should create and promote a culture that respects diversity and promotes positive social messages. The necessity of raising awareness among parents, volunteers was also stressed as well as the need for the introduction of a Code of Conduct for all sports stakeholders which can contribute to the prevention of violence against children.
A few words about ACTIVE
ACTIVE – funded by the Rights Equality and Citizenship Programme – aims at establishing safer environments for children by developing an online self-assessment tool, allowing sports and leisure clubs to identify and address gaps in terms of implementation of Child Protection Policies in their premises. The project is being implemented in Greece by KMOP, in Italy by CESIE, in Cyprus by CARDET, in Portugal by CESIS and in Scotland by Children 1st.
