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May 13, 2022
The International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) international initiative, Her World Her Rules (HWHR), has expanded to Morrocco. The program promotes gender equality, inclusion and empowerment of girls through basketball and awareness of gender issues.
The HWHR campaign is one of FIBA’s most recognized initiatives in women’s basketball. Seventy National Federations received funding in 2021 aimed at helping them increase girls’ participation and grow the number of girls playing basketball in their respective countries.
Supported by the Women’s Basketball Commission of the Royal Moroccan Basketball Federation, the initiative will be implemented together with the Sport for Development (S4D) project and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Preschool and Sports.
The program will be deployed in eight regions and 24 Moroccan cities and will allow young girls and boys to benefit from basketball workshops in primary schools and 3×3 basketball workshops in colleges. Between May and August of this year, the project will introduce 1000 girls to basketball and train 50 coaches to support girls towards greater autonomy. Ultimately these girls, aged between 6 and 15, will themselves become ambassadors for gender equality and the program, receiving their own basketball and inspiring other young people to promote gender inclusion.
“Morocco is full of female potential and talent in basketball at an urban and rural level. As a former captain of the women’s national team and the head of the Women’s Basketball Commission within the FRMB, we designed an approach to make the practice of basketball a means of fulfillment for young girls,” said Ms. Loubnas Belabbes, President of the Women’s Basketball Commission. “This new approach not only allows the development of skills but an opportunity to discover oneself in a disciplined sport such as basketball.”
The coaches will be trained in a Sport for Development methodology, providing them with the necessary tools to promote gender equality amongst young people of all genders. Basketball coaches will play a key role to inspire young people and elevate values such as self-confidence, solidarity, equality, empathy and respect for others.
Additionally, artistic graffiti workshops will complement the sports activities and will display the project’s values, such as respect, equality and self-confidence. German and Moroccan street art artists will develop a concept with the young people to revamp and paint the basketball court with the messages that ring true to them.
As part of FIBA’s commitment to further develop the game of basketball for women and girls, “Women in Basketball” is a key focus of FIBA’s strategic priorities for 2019-2023. Following a successful implementation in Europe, the HWHR program has been available since this year to all National Federations worldwide as part of FIBA’s support for women’s basketball development.
FIBA global partner top-three global television manufacturer, TCL, became an active supporter of the HWHR program this year and will be continuing this collaboration in 2022 to promote the program worldwide. TCL launched its global campaign called ‘Inspire Greatness’ across international markets during the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2021 tournament held in Spain and France.
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