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ONSIDE LEARN


The ONSIDE Fund is committed to actively curating spaces for global knowledge exchange and learning. As part of this commitment, we bring together a variety of different stakeholders from across the gender justice sector including ONSIDE grantees, funders, women's funds and sport for development organisations. 


In order to capture the valuable insights that emerge in these spaces, the ONSIDE Fund has launched the 'ONSIDE Fund Thought Piece Series'. Explore this series of short articles, each written by different ONSIDE stakeholders, who share their unique perspectives after participating in these conversations. 

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Written by the ONSIDE Team


The third edition of the ONSIDE Funders Dialogues focused on the MENA region and

offered a reflective space for learning and exchanges between a group of ONSIDE MENA

grantees, Advisory Committee members and funders. The conversation provided invaluable

insights into the barriers that limit girls and women’s access to and participation in sports at

all levels in the region –from the grassroots to the competitive–. It also highlighted the

importance of a localised and tailored approach to participatory grant-making at the

intersections of sports and gender justice that takes into account the diversity and

complexities of this geography.


Illustration by Sagrario with key takeaways from the conversation

KEY TAKEAWAYS


The lack of adequate policies significantly limits women and girls’ entry into sports at the

competitive level, which is why some grantee partners in the region are collaborating with

external federations and seeking community funding to provide scholarships to girls from

less privileged backgrounds to participate in sports. These efforts have resulted in greater

recognition by local and state governments of the role that women and girls can play in

competitive sports, leading to positive policy changes in the matter. Despite such

recognition, it is clear that there is still a long way to go, as the sports infrastructure

remains very much limited and is clearly segmented across sports and locations. In

Jordan, for example, schools don’t have the necessary infrastructure to support more than

one sport, and most sport for development initiatives available for younger ages come from

clubs and academies, thus restricting opportunities to those who can afford them.


Photo by Sally Hassona

Accessing funds is a challenge on its own. In Egypt, where the ecosystem of decision-makers is predominantly male, more sponsorship opportunities are made available to male athletes and male-dominated sports. Similarly, in Jordan, the lack of financial incentives has resulted in a much younger retirement age for women athletes, and there is a strong need for individual sponsorships to keep them in the game. However, it is not clear how these sponsorship opportunities can be made available for women in the region. And while certain individual sports like judo and taekwondo have seen a huge jump in achievement in recent years, leading to more funding trickling down to the academy level, less popular sports, such as volleyball, do not receive the same attention.


The scenario is even more complex in countries embroiled in long-term political

turmoil. In Palestine, funding for competitive sports is very difficult to come by, so our

grantee partner focuses on organising competitions locally within the Gaza strip. They work

to empower women with disabilities in the communities by integrating them into sports clubs

and institutions with the broader aim of challenging harmful stereotypes and highlighting their

valuable contributions to society. One of the main challenges in supporting people with

disabilities through sports is being able to cover specific transportation and equipment

needs, which are very expensive.


Photo by Enas Saeed

Last but not least, funder representatives emphasised that working together is key to

bring about meaningful social change, which led them to contribute to a pooled funding

mechanism. They also highlighted that bold leadership is needed in order to keep pushing

for innovative approaches in the sector and shift towards more flexible and unrestricted

funding, particularly in regions such as MENA.





by Nyambura M. Waruingi


Sandra Castro Pinzón of Tan Grande y Jugando (Colombia) delivered the resounding culmination to our October 2022 We are ONSIDE Conversation: “You have your future in your hands”.


Those on screen, Fariah Laikipian (Kenya), Sham Al Bdour (Jordan), Tiffany Attali (France), Cristina Amaya (USA), and our moderator, Mariana Chavez (ONSIDE Gaming), nodded in agreement, rejuvenated, inspired. And for us, watching the webinar “Highlighting the Work of Grantees Advancing Gender Justice in And Through Esports and Gaming”, felt a wave of reinvigoration wash over us. Some bruja vibes were definitely a part of this online meeting.


Bruja, witches, healers, empowered women, those integrating the masculine and feminine... depending on the moment in history, the language, the nomenclature shifts.


Photo by Latinx in Gaming

Gossip, idle talk, a close friend, related to one in God. Again, depending on the moment in history, the person with the power to name determines the lens through which we interpret. Gender justice is about reclaiming and transforming spaces, both literal and linguistic. How we use language is so important to this emancipatory path.


And the brujas in conversation, our five healers, our five empowered women illuminated various trajectories at the heart of delineating these revolutionary journeys. What struck me deeply was the evolution out of western liberal feminist politics, which have shaped many of our cultural and economic transformations in the different countries, and a deeper dive into the evolving nature of an inclusionary, integrated and representative approach.


Photo by AnyKey

There’s a focus on centring community-building, wellness advocacy, confidence-building through mentorship, and forging a sustainable path to participation in esports and gaming, where harassment and exploitation are ever-present. In order for us to show up as our full selves, women, non-binary, and the LGBTQI+ communities need to equip themselves with tools and strategies to safely navigate different spaces. It’s a completely different approach from ‘leaning in’. It is not about being of the sector but getting to navigate in otherwise exclusionary and heteronormative male-centred spheres. This, then, expands to create another transformation: men as part of the change we want to see and effect, creating spaces incorporating healthy and positive masculinity.


Through various gender-mainstreaming initiatives from international NGOs, the statistics zero in on the numbers of women, LGBTQI+, and non-binary persons within organizations. However, our brujas emphasized on pivoting to ownership of organizations, initiatives—we are at the centre, shaping the very narratives being constructed that will then forge a path to deconstruct harmful culture codes and perpetuation of stereotypes. Tiffany Attali, for example, crafts games and experiences from a non-binary lens, “creating worlds that erase stereotypes”.


As we pivot to leadership, we recognize the importance of visibility. Sham Al Bdour remarked on how her speaking at events influenced young girls to see themselves as game makers. In seeing ourselves, we work to overcoming the barriers, some of which are about gaining “the opportunity to be in the room.” (Cristina Amaya) Cristina leads by raising money to fund travel and hardware, for example. This networking is crucial to building women and networks based on “communit(ies) built on empathy and compassion” (Fariah Laikipian), which develop our confidences through mentorship.


Photo by Sakura Games

New and important words shaped our conversation, elevating our engagement. Our language was not metric-biased; it was communitarian-centric. Connection. Collaboration. Genuine interest. Recognition. Understanding. Compassion. And we laughed, deeply, all the while sharing like close friends. This moment in We Are ONSIDE Gaming Conversations was a demonstration of how we were empowering ourselves in abundant, inclusive, revolutionary yet simple ways. The coven, la asamblea, had assembled to transform not only our minds and acts, but most importantly our language of revolt.


Author’s note: The idea of drawing from the lexicon of witches and covens is inspired by the work of Sandra Castro Pinzón with a women’s empowerment initiative called Asamblea, which means coven. This lexicon is also important because powerful women that threatened heteronormative patriarchy in western and colonizing cultures were called witches. It would be interesting to see what the equivalent of this in non-western cultures were.




Written by Machi Orime, Maitri Manjunath and Mwamba Nyanda


KEY TAKEAWAYS


Machi (Sport for Creating Pathways, Japan)

It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the situation of LGBTQIA+ people in different countries and the unique work carried out for the LGBTQIA+ community through sport. I could also see how cultural backgrounds affect the barriers that the LGBTQIA+ community face. It

reminded me that we must closely look at social issues from local perspectives. I've found various clues to expand our work for the LGBTQIA+ community, such as paying attention to intersexuality, increasing community engagement, and collaborating with other institutions.


Maitri (People's Ultimate League, India)

The 'We Are ONSIDE' panel discussion gave People's Ultimate League (PUL) a wonderful opportunity to interact with other groups with similar interests from all over the world. The experiences shared by the participants and the challenges they faced on field were valuable take home information for us; some were relatable experiences for us and the communities we are working with, making us realise the potential for future collaborations with these other groups. In addition, it was heartening to see the participation in the Q&A session. Queries and points raised there will be good learning points for our initiatives. We look forward to more such conversations, and in the process, learn more from each other towards achieving our goals


Mwamba (Tanzania Trans Initiative, Tanzania)

Participating in the 'We Are ONSIDE' conversation gave me the realisation that LGBTQIA+ people need to take and make spaces for themselves within sports. By collaborating with other organisations working with these communities, we can gain knowledge, ideas and strategies that will work to bring equality and inclusion to sport.



NEXT STEPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS


Maitri (People's Ultimate League, India)

In order to keep these conversations going forward, I would suggest we have sessions where each group focuses on their short term specific goals, what has worked and what hasn't worked for them. This could be a platform for all of us to brainstorm and benefit from each others' knowledge.


Machi (Sport for Creating Pathways, Japan)

I would love to have more inspiring conversations like this. It would be interesting to invite people from sports organisations and athletes to the discussion as well as groups working with LGBTQIA+ communities. I believe the perspectives from different sectors will allow us to extend the conversation and discuss how we can work together for LGBTQIA+ communities in and through sports.


Mwamba (Tanzania Trans Initiative, Tanzania)

I think it is vital that we remain connected with this network and continue sharing ideas, opportunities and learnings about working with and advocating for LGBTQIA+ communities within sports.


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