To mark the occasion of International Women’s Day, the International University Sports Federation announces the seventh edition of the FISU Gender Equality Awards. Nominations from FISU’s national and continental member federations are now open.
“Following six successful editions of the Gender Equality Award, in 2020 the FISU Gender Equality Committee proposed to expand the awards, to not only recognise organisations, but also individuals, who have developed outstanding projects or made significant efforts to advance and achieve gender equality in university sports,” said FISU Secretary General-CEO Eric Saintrond.
As the leader in the development of university sport worldwide, FISU aims to continuously support gender equality initiatives across the world and assists its member federations in developing these special projects.
The newly renamed FISU Gender Equality Awards now consist of two awards, the:
- FISU Gender Equality Project Award, and the
- FISU Gender Equality Champion Award
Awarded biannually, the FISU Gender Equality Awards aim to promote the advancement of gender equality in sport and recognise outstanding efforts and achievements to increase the participation of women, but also non-binary and transgender individuals, in sports at all levels, both on and off the field of play.
The FISU Gender Equality Project Award will be bestowed on a project that has already been delivered in its entirety at least once in 2020 or 2021, prior to being nominated for the award. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, projects which were delivered in 2019 and intended to be delivered in 2020 or 2021, are also eligible to be nominated for the award. The winning organisation will receive a grant of up to 5000€ from FISU to support the continuation and development of the project.
The FISU Gender Equality Champion Award is bestowed on an individual who has contributed significantly to gender equality in university sports in their country, continent or internationally. The winning individual will be awarded the title of FISU Gender Equality Champion and will have the opportunity to be a presenter and speaker at future FISU events.
For details on the Awards criteria and eligibility, please refer to this document. The nomination process is now open to FISU’s member National University Sports Federations (NUSFs) and Continental University Sports Federations (CUSFs). Nominations must be submitted to the FISU Gender Equality Committee via education@fisu.net, according to the instructions given in the General Rules and Regulations, and using the official Nomination Form no later than 15 July 2021.
NUSFs and CUSFs are entitled to nominate an unlimited number of candidates for the FISU Gender Equality Project Award and one candidate only per NUSF or CUSF for the FISU Gender Equality Champion Award. Higher education institutions and universities are also strongly encouraged to submit nominations to their respective NUSF, who can then submit them to FISU on their behalf.
A pre-selection Jury composed of FISU Gender Equality Committee and Gender Equality Working Group members will review the nominations and propose a shortlist.
The winners of the FISU Gender Equality Project Award and FISU Gender Equality Champion Award will be announced at the FISU General Assembly 2021 in Chengdu, China.