3X3 Unites hosts successful conference on the social impact of sport
A day before the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Amsterdam Masters began, 3X3 Unites organized a conference for its national and international network. The central question during the conference was: what is the social impact of sport and how best to measure it?
The World Tour Amsterdam Masters was a great opportunity to work with like-minded parties to find an answer to this question. 'In this way we could very nicely show how we bring together the two worlds, that of elite sport and our social programs,' says Maxi Sellering on behalf of 3X3 Unites.
Because that is exactly what 3X3 Unites does, says Sellering at the opening of the conference. Facing a packed hall, she explains that 3X3 Unites uses 3x3 basketball as a vehicle for social projects that help young people gain future prospects and give them the chance to discover their talents.
3X3 Unites educate young people to become 3X3 Leaders in which they are taught lifeskills. The foundation cooperates with more than 50 municipalities in the Netherlands and with other cities and organizations abroad.
The conference focused on three themes: gender equality, mental health and youth employability. 'These are three themes that are very close to our core values,' says Sellering. 'We want to create a community where everyone feels safe. In that, not only the atmosphere is important, but also the programs we have. We can also learn a lot from others.'
It was one of the reasons that 3X3 Unites had invited Katrin Bauer as the keynote speaker. She is senior consultant Mainlevel Consulting AG and specializes in monitoring and evaluating the social impact of sport. 'More and more organizations involved in sport are increasingly realizing that at its core it is about making social impact,' Sellering said.
The next step for these organizations is how to make that demonstrable in a substantiated and clear way. 'It is not only important towards donors, but especially to have insight into your own programs. That way you can adjust them and actually make the impact you want to make,' says Bauer. 'Just a gut feeling or a few slick videos on social media are not enough.'
Bauer advises making the monitoring and evaluation process part of the organization and not seeing it as something that has to be done in addition. According to her, it doesn't have to be done only through traditional means; it can be done in other ways. 'Be creative,' she says. 'Try things out, like storytelling, for example. You have to stay motivated. But you will have to make time and commitment for it.'
After Katrin's lecture, the group of more than 100 participants was split into smaller groups. In different rooms at the Head Quarter of 3X3 Unites, they were able to attend workshops on the three themes that were the focus of the event. One of the workshops was given by Iris Workum (Transformers Community) and was about building mental health by building community.
During the workshop, she did an exercise with participants in which mistakes were extensively celebrated. Workum: “The key is for people to feel skilled to introduce rituals that promote mental health without laying it on too thick. They have to become sort of habits.'
According to Workum, mental health is very important because it allows people to get more out of themselves and others. 'If you are mentally well off, you utilize your own potential more and are more likely to look out for others. That is what we need in society. Our organization is not called Transformers Community for nothing. We transform the young people and the young people transform society.'
A little further on, in another room, Melissa 't Jong gave a workshop on gender equality on behalf of 3X3 Unites. 'With 3X3 Unites, we developed the 3X3 Girls Course. In doing so, we asked ourselves what it would take to get girls to move and come back to the squares.'
To find an answer to that question, 't Jong had several meetings with Nike, which works for gender equality through Made To Play, and Women Win, which works for the rights of women and girls worldwide by organizing sports projects. 'It's great fun to work with those parties. They have so much knowledge,” said 't Jong.
Not much later, Mariette Brethouwer sat on a discussion panel on behalf of Nike that concluded the conference. 'We have been a partner of 3X3 Unites for almost five years,' Brethouwer said. 'From the beginning, we believed in the strength of 3X3 Unites, including their commitment to gender equality. They also felt they were too male-oriented in the beginning. That they dared to say that, I thought was very strong of them.
According to Brethouwer, Nike has the good fortune and strength of working with many organizations. Nike pools that knowledge and is only too happy to share it with organizations that are also concerned with sports and gender equality. In addition, Nike trains coaches to talk about topics that actually have nothing to do with sports.
'How do you talk about menstruation, wearing a sports bra or puberty? Girls bring it all to court, but often there is no one they can talk to about it. By giving coaches simple tools they can play an important role.
At the end of the successful conference, Sellering thanked all partners and other organizations for attending. “It was very valuable and together we are going to make sure that we further increase the social impact of sport.”