Women were once silenced in Lebanon. But since the October revolution 2019 it changed. They are fed up with their spot on the sidelines. They are on the frontlines now, demanding their rights. They want to rewrite their own stories in hopes of a better Lebanon for their future female generations. And involving women in sports is a small step for better conditions and equality for women in Lebanon, but it is a clever way to start changing society. Northern Lebanon is a region that is significantly influenced by the Syrian conflict. The region is characterized by high unemployment rates, religious diversity, and high drug abuse. It is extremely important to support and empower girls and women in this particular region. Women’s rights are often overlooked and neglected when communities experience a crisis or undergo a sudden change process, but it is exactly in these times when it is most necessary to advocate for women’s rights and to empower women in the community. DISCOVER FOOTBALL is partnering with GIZ Local Development Programme for Urban Areas in North Lebanon (UDP_NL) to help to strengthen Northern Lebanon. The overall objective of the project is to increase gender equality by supporting and strengthening […] Read More
If someone had told me that I was going to play football almost 2 months ago, I would have just shake my head and laughed. And then as a goalie. A thing of impossibility. I was a passionate handball player. Football never crossed my mind, because around the corner where I lived, there was simply no possibility. Football became in particular important to me in 2009, when I discovered the power of sport in the context of social change. Behind the camera. But the sport simply pulls you along. You can’t escape it. And so it came to pass that on 30 June I also played in a Guinness World Record football game as a goalkeeper for the first time in my life. After almost working through two days as a photographer, my goal was actually to play 10 minutes only. 1 hour became it finally. And in fact, you get intoxicated. Since 2017 I’m supporting Equal Playing Field (EPF). Together we challenge gender inequality in sport and promote development for girls and women globally. We believe in a world where they are treated equally and are given the respect they deserve. We fight for opportunity, equality and respect in […] Read More
A green football field surrounded by grandstand holding thousands of cheering spectators, celebrating the eleven winners of the match. The other team is devastated. Women in white tricots looking exhausted and very disappointed, one player lays on the field and covers her face to hide her tears. The feeling: It is over, everything. We gave more than 100% percent, but it wasn’t good enough. A few minutes ago, there was still the chance to win, but now we failed in the penalty shootout. It’s June 2019 and the FIFA Woman’s World Cup 2019 took place in France and numerous similar situations happened throughout the knockout stage. But the scenery above took place throughout the World Cup in Germany in 2011. Despite the eight years in between it is still an extremely relevant match concerning the art of losing. But losing is necessary and crucial for human growth. The USA’s football team (USWNT) in white was devastated in 2011, after losing the finals after a stunning penalty shootout. Seeing the winning Japanese team in their triumph moment was a tragic defeat, even more given that the USWNT are famous for their woman’s soccer and Japan was somewhat of a newcomer. Whenever […] Read More
Mindfulness at work … What does mindfulness have to do with digital change? On the surface, not much at a first glance. But not without a good reason this topic is experiencing a real hype recently, especially in fast-moving industries. The environment is changing rapidly. New challenges are emerging faster and faster, especially the ones we face in the business world. Sign of the times: Available knowledge worldwide doubles every five to seven years. And 80 percent of the technologies used today will be replaced by new ones in ten years’ time. In addition, there is a very high workload: too many, too complex tasks, strong deadline and performance pressure, multi-tasking, interruptions, constant availability and an often-unhealthy management and work culture. Short-term stress reactions can indeed have an activating effect. However, if the level remains high and there are no recovery phases, the body switches to continuous alarm. Mindfulness is an effective method of achieving a stress-free state of consciousness during work. Sport can have a similar balancing effect. Mental fitness in sports Being in shape as an athlete means to sharpen your concentration, to think self-motivating and to face new challenges in a relaxed and self-confident way. Mental […] Read More
Within our project „Kick it like Lira“, we’re primarily interested in supporting girls to become the best and fiercest version of themselves. As we learned in our last ‘sneak peak’ blog entry, many skills from football playing can be adapted to one’s educational career. Similarly, to football, many branches still fight with negative and reducing prejudices on women’s required skills for the job. In order to prove that these prejudices are anything else but true, Girls’ Future Day, or abbreviated Girls’ Day is a nationwide action day, specifically aimed at broadening girls’ range of career choices. Moreover, it intends to motivate girls and women to take up technical and scientific careers and untypical jobs. Local heroes – helping pave the way Some of the girls presented in our project correspond exactly to this atypical job description. In order to maintain the perfect balance between career and athletics as a young person, you need all-embracing and professional support. The “Kick it like Lira” project therefore cooperates with Anpfiff ins Leben, a non-profit association that supports young athletes and people with amputations in creating the best possible prospects for their private and professional future. A large network of schools, universities, associations, business […] Read More
The press describes itself as a democratic medium. But the way in which sports journalists approach women’s sport is only very rarely neutral and factual, of course there are pioneers in reporting about sports. The “prejudices” about women and men are present in sports reviews and the media can therefore be considered to have a special role in their continuation. They participate, often unconsciously, in putting women in their „right place “. Media under-representation, insignificance and sexualization, here is a division in three hand spans of how women’s sport is portrayed in the media. About Body Images In advertising, a female stereotype is preferred that corresponds to the common ideal of beauty, which is characterized, among other things, by a clearly heterosexual charisma. Deviations from this masculine norm will not be tolerated. Some women still feel archaic gender images, often even through the official regulations of associations and events. Quite often sport promotes degradation as an accessory and additionally sends the signal that it is okay to reduce women to their appearance. This attitude dominates sport to such an extent that top female athletes are no longer perceived in terms of their sporting […] Read More
Women and men all around the world have been marching today, more than 100 years since International Women’s Day was first celebrated. The ultimate goal of those marching is to recognize past struggles and achievements, and to draw attention to the many challenges still facing those speaking out for gender equality. Thousands of events have been held around the globe and the issues they are highlighting include, better representation of women in media and politics, and better global access to education and medical care. 100 years ago, the suffragette movement in Germany called on women to take to the streets; and thousands of them did. German women demanded shorter working hours, better pay and voting rights. Their courage was the foundation for the many fantastic women in Germany today whose skills, especially in the field of football, still go unrecognized. It is well known that women’s soccer, formerly known as “ladies” football, has been a wallflower for decades. Typically, sports clubs rejected women. Soccer matches for women were considered indecent and even forbidden! After years of fighting against the odds, female soccer players experienced a victory in 1970, when the German Soccer Association finally gave in and began allowing women’s […] Read More
On what’s ahead in 2019, particularly one event shines on the horizon: the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 taking place in France. Women’s football has recently gained in popularity and participation. But we have not reached our goal yet and will continue to challenge stereotypes and demand respect for women in soccer. Together with Equal Playing Field, DISCOVER FOOTBALL, Women Win, Global Goals World Cup and all the other great organization fighting for the United Nations goal number 5. Going this direction, I intend the exhibition “Kick it like Lira” focusing on girls and women playing football in Baden-Württemberg. It shares a familiar story to many of the World Class players who fought against the odds to make it where they are today. It is a tale about a journey of girls who overcome many obstacles to fight for change in the way female football is perceived – and about their individual motivation strengths and successes. It therefore aims at the visibility of girls and women playing football beyond the sexualized images portrayed in media. With an emotionally charged photo and video documentation, multi-faceted storytelling including a social media campaign, the project sets out principles to support the empowerment of women […] Read More
A year ago, I would never have dreamed of climbing Kilimanjaro. That was not on my bucket list. But faith is known to move mountains. And so I was able to capture exciting scenes from the first football game on the roof of Africa with my camera. The actors? Strong women from 24 countries.For courage and self-confidence, it is also in the next action. On April 5 we continue our journey and again women from more than 20 countries are taking on this new challenge to open the door to the next generation and show the great highs and lows that women and girls experience in simply trying to play the game they love. Our mission: to motivate women to fight for their dreams and their rights. The initiator of the campaign is Equal Playing Field, an organization dedicated to women’s equality and equality in sport – especially in football. “All girls deserve the chance to grow beyond their own borders,” says co-founder Laura Youngson. Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan supports the EPF campaign. On the offensive: Encouraging women to go their own way These women are ready to give all – in show matches in front of unique […] Read More
An initiative with a new approach: Football stars pay one percent of their income into a social fund – thus football helps underprivileged people around the world. Kicking for a better world. This motto represents Jürgen Griesbeck’s idea and the essence of the ‘Common Goal’ initiative in a nutshell. Prominent footballers, but also other parties from this extremely capital-intensive industry, donate one percent of their income to social causes. Griesbeck is supported by many people who share his vision: Deploy football with its fascination and social binding force as a medium for a more just and peaceful society. Jürgen Griesbeck is able to wait. As a matter of fact, he has remained skeptical about using prominent names for any purpose whatsoever for 15 years. This was for a good reason: Anyone familiar with the concept of the ambassador (and/or brand ambassador), which is widely applied in marketing and in many NGOs, knows that it can quite easily backfire – namely, when the ambassador’s reputation has passed its peak or he/she has caused a scandal. Then the blessing can turn into a curse and diminish public interest or in a worst-case scenario, negative headlines can adversely impact the subject in question or the brand. However, it […] Read More
