special event

Empowering through sports

Erasmus+ Project

ERASMUS-SPORT-2022-CB

Project number: 101093720

About the Project

The “Mermaids for Inclusion” project, supported by the EU, focuses on enhancing grassroots sports organizations while addressing social inclusion, particularly the integration of ethnic and religious minorities and promoting gender equality. 

This aligns with the EU Work Plan for Sport 2021-2024, emphasizing integrity, values, and social aspects of sports, including increasing women’s representation in leadership and coaching roles and ensuring equal conditions and media coverage for female athletes.

The project, with a strong focus on the Western Balkans, seeks to address the complex challenges faced by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Croatia, and Greece, particularly in the areas of integrating ethnic and religious minorities and advancing gender equality. These regions, which have been significantly impacted by emigration, along with an increasing influx of migrants and asylum seekers, underscore the urgent need for more inclusive societal frameworks.

The project sets out to establish finswimming as a new and inclusive sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, offering a digital education platform that not only teaches the sport itself but also imparts essential skills related to social inclusion. The initiative specifically targets women and ethnic minorities, aiming to create educational pathways that break down traditional barriers.

By focusing on capacity building within grassroots clubs, the project aspires to elevate finswimming as a gateway to a variety of other water-related activities. More importantly, it seeks to foster social inclusion, using sports as a unifying tool to bridge divides. The initiative also places a strong emphasis on regional cooperation within the Western Balkans, encouraging the sharing of best practices and knowledge to address pressing socio-economic challenges. This collaborative approach aims to promote greater civil engagement and social cohesion through the power of sports, creating lasting positive impacts in the region.

Additionally, this project is co-financed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia and, the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs. Further underscoring the importance of cross-border collaboration in tackling the region’s social challenges.

Our Workplan

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The views expressed in this publication/program/exhibit/video/audio material are the sole responsibility of Finswimming Team Komet and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs