Launched by the European Commission Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) the #BeInclusive EU Sport Awards aim to reward best projects that have successfully supported social inclusion through sport.

Who can apply
Any organisation or private authority which has successfully developed a sport project aimed at social inclusion, carried out in the Erasmus+ Programme Countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey) or third countries associated to the programme (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey) or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature.

Individuals applicants are not eligible.

How to apply
Organisations will have to submit their projects (text, videos, images or other material).
Projects that are still in the development phase and have not yet been implemented are not eligible. Ongoing projects are eligible.
Applicants are encouraged to submit entries in English or to include a translation into English.
Projects can include young people with a migrant background, refugees, ethnic minorities, disadvantaged, marginalized or underprivileged groups, people with a disability, individuals with difficult social backgrounds or any other group that faces challenging social circumstances. The #BeInclusive EU sport Awards will also support gender equality. Besides rewarding specific organisations, the award will also give visibility and support the dissemination of innovative ideas, initiatives and best practices throughout Europe.

Prizes

The three prize categories include:

• Promoting gender equality in sport “Be Equal”: to reward projects promoting the empowerment and participation of women and girls in sport. This category will celebrate role models who make gender equality a reality by setting an inspiring example.
• Sport for peace: to reward projects using sport as a vehicle to promote peace and European values. This category will particularly target initiatives promoting the inclusion of refugees, such as in the context of the war in Ukraine.
• Breaking barriers in sport: to reward projects that show inspiration, giving positive examples of empowerment and role models from groups with fewer opportunities that step up and lead change.

Prizes
The winner and the finalists (ranked second and third) in each category will be announced at an award ceremony.
Each winner will receive €10 000 and each finalist will receive €2 500.

Deadline: 28 September 2023, 17:00 CET.

Find out more here.