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Title [Martial Arts Globe] First Judo Steps for Women
woman carrying barbell (unsplash.com) First
Judo Steps for Women
Supporting Women’s Empowerment through judo Spela Lampe
At International Women's
Forum (IWF) 2022 in Paris, Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO
for Social Sciences and Humanities, emphasised that significant progress has
been made on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the past few decades,
but current world events from Afghanistan to Ukraine to COVID-19 have shown the
fragility of the matter.
In all layers of society,
it is necessary to continue to fight for the progress of gender equality in all
areas in the direction of a kinder society. One of the tools to achieve this
can be martial arts. Using the practical example of judo, the article aims to
present how this martial art acts as a catalyst for social change in the local
environment. People of all ages and groups enjoy judo equally; in addition, it
provides them with non-formal education.
A free program for women
from the margins of society In one of its socially
responsible projects, the Judo club Golovec (JCG) from Slovenia, decided to sustainably
reintegrate socially excluded women. They developed a program aimed at women
from socially vulnerable backgrounds, over the age of 18, regardless of prior
knowledge, who want to learn the philosophy of this wonderful martial art. The
training is completely free for them and will last from October to June 2023.
”We have been thinking about the
program of women's empowerment through judo for a long time. This year we
participate in the transnational consortium of the EU-funded project WONDER M.ARTS (Women Doing Karate and Judo
are Empowered from Martial Arts) and we are successfully transferring knowledge
from it to the local environment by involving women from the margins of our
society” says Nuša Lampe, CEO of the JCG.
Integration of Ukrainian
refugee women 15 Ukrainian refugees and 6
women from the local environment practice judo together twice a week.
Interlingual communication in Ukrainian, Slovenian, English and Japanese (in
judo all techniques are in Japanese) is often a challenge, but it also brings a
lot of relaxation and laughter to the practice. It is also necessary to
emphasize the importance of promoting intercultural dialogue, which offers an
opportunity for the cooperation of participants who are committed to their own
cultural values, but are ready to consider different perspectives and learn new
things.
Objectives of the program The main goal of the
"Judo for Women" project is the physical and psychological
empowerment of women. Its broad objectives are to: -
promote
knowledge of martial arts as a tool for social inclusion, dialogue, and
equality; -
learn how to breakfall correctly and safely to prevent injuries; -
learn the basics of judo control; -
promote
the continuous practice of martial arts as a tool of empowerment and a factor
in the realization of the women's talent; -
reduce the stereotype of martial arts as a violent
sport; -
promote
martial arts education by increasing the development of soft skills -
stimulate
the target involved to develop an awareness of women's rights, as well as the
tools for preventing and combating women; -
get
knowledge and awareness of the various forms of violence against women -
decrease
the stereotype of the woman's image -
promote
gender education as a factor of change in relation to sexist behavioural patterns; -
promote
judo values such as courage, inclusiveness and friendship.
Using social media to validate the project idea JCG validated its project idea before starting the project by checking with its followers what women's empowerment with judo means to them. Some of the responses received were:
Getting a sponsor is not a
given Due to the lack of
investments in the direction of an inclusive society on the market, JCG is
looking for sponsors on its own. They present to potential partners the
project, its goals and its impacts on the local environment. It's hard work,
they admit. Companies with social responsibility provide the necessary
financial resources for the purchase of judogis for project participants, and
in cooperation with the judo club they plan and implement a joint promotional
campaign on women's empowerment.
Think global, act local The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in
2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the
planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries around the
world.
Sports
centers as well as martial arts centers can contribute to the realization of
some sustainable development goals: Goal
3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Goal
4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong
learning. Goal
5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Goal
11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
By
integrating women from the margins of society and thereby improving the quality
of their lives in several areas, this project once again shows that judo can be
an innovative and effective tool to assist existing efforts to achieve specific
goals such as those concerning education and gender equality. Acquiring new skills and
transferring them to the local environment is crucial to keeping pace with a
global and rapidly changing world. The importance of lifelong learning was
already emphasized by Jigoro Kano, who was an educator in his professional
life. In JCG, through international projects, they invest in new knowledge and
the acquisition of new skills, which then enable them to transfer them to their
home club and local society. They firmly believe that the way they attract
young people today will determine the prospects for sustainable development
tomorrow.
Sources: Judo
Golovec Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/judoklubgolovec ※ Views in this writing are the author's own. |