{"id":691,"date":"2026-08-03T15:15:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/?p=691"},"modified":"2026-08-03T15:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:41:15","slug":"fier-plays-influence-is-growing-on-the-international-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/en\/2026\/08\/03\/fier-plays-influence-is-growing-on-the-international-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Fier-Play&rsquo;s influence is growing on the international stage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The past few weeks have marked a new milestone in Fier-Play\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After several years of working with the French sports movement, our efforts were highlighted at two major international events dedicated to inclusion in sports: a presentation at UNESCO during the <strong>Pride in Play<\/strong> event organized by the Equal Rights Coalition, followed by a roundtable discussion at the <strong>Madrid Summit<\/strong> bringing together athletes, European institutions, and international organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two different events, but one shared conviction: building a more inclusive sports environment requires dialogue, cooperation, and concrete solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Promoting Inclusive Sports at UNESCO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Invited to speak at <strong>Pride in Play<\/strong>, held at UNESCO headquarters, Fier-Play shared its experience with representatives from governments, international organizations, associations, and stakeholders in the sports world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This roundtable discussion addressed several major issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the role of sports in promoting the inclusion of LGBTIQ+ people;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the current challenges faced by athletes, particularly in an international context where the rights of LGBTIQ+ people are sometimes called into question;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the need to strengthen cooperation between institutions, the sports movement, and civil society.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond simply acknowledging these issues, the discussions focused on solutions for creating safer and more respectful sports environments for everyone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In Madrid, putting athletes at the heart of solutions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few days later, Fier-Play was also present at the Madrid Summit, this time as the moderator of a roundtable discussion featuring Valentina Petrillo and Lewis Gibson, Paralympic and Olympic athletes; a representative from the Council of Europe; and Francine Hetherington Raveney and Crystal Hendricks from ILGA World.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The goal of this meeting was clear: to move beyond simply acknowledging discrimination and identify concrete courses of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The discussions highlighted several priorities in particular:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>increasing the visibility of role models;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>providing better support for athletes throughout their careers;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>developing international partnerships;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>giving greater prominence to initiatives led by the athletes themselves.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This discussion also provided an opportunity to introduce Proud Champions, the international network developed by Fier-Play and Compete Proud, designed to connect LGBTIQ+ athletes and their allies, promote the sharing of experiences, and strengthen collaborations with sports organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-fe48e5de wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-kubio-color-5-color has-kubio-color-1-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/f1E0GdQcyiA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Watch the conference<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recognition That Inspires Commitment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These invitations reflect the growing interest in the initiatives developed by Fier-Play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In just a few years, the organization has evolved from organizing national projects to actively participating in European and international discussions on inclusion in sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This recognition is, above all, a testament to the collective effort we\u2019ve made alongside our partners\u2014federations, local governments, organizations, and the athletes who place their trust in us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It reinforces our conviction that while the challenges are global, solutions are built on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is why Fier-Play will continue to develop its support initiatives, its LAB, the Proud Champions network, and its partnerships with stakeholders in the sports movement, in order to turn discussions into concrete actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because a more inclusive sport isn\u2019t built solely at major international conferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s built every day\u2014in clubs, federations, local communities, and among all those who choose to take action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The past few weeks have marked a new milestone in Fier-Play\u2019s development. After several years of working with the French sports movement, our efforts were highlighted at two major international events dedicated to inclusion in sports: a presentation at UNESCO during the Pride in Play event organized by the Equal Rights Coalition, followed by a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":692,"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions\/692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fier-play.fr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}