Basketball Experience: promoting gender equality trough the practice of sport

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP),  which takes place annually on  April 6, presents an opportunity to recognize the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe.

Sport has the power to change the world. It is a fundamental right and a powerful tool to strengthen social ties and promote sustainable development and peace, as well as solidarity and respect for all.

From empowering women and girls, young people, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups, sport also promotes good health, sustainability, educational objectives, and the potential to  advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and for promoting peace and human rights.

Basketball experience: promoting education through sport in africa

The Basketball Experience program for education through sport in Africa is part of a  “Sport and Development” partnership signed in June 2018 between AFD and the NBA, the world’s top basketball league.

The Basketball Experience program aims to create  dynamic  sporting activities in schools and cities in four countries: Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya. In each country an NGO and a communication agency are responsible for implementing the activities , while  Expertise France oversees coordinating the program.

The program started in 2019 in Zenata and Greater Casablanca,Morocco;in 2020 in Lagos, Nigeria and in 2022 in Senegal.

The program aims to generate interest among the public authorities, communities and families to raiseawareness about the benefits of regular sporting activity for health and personal development among young people, especially girls.

To date, the program has reached an equal balance of boys and girls attending the activities in Morocco and in Nigeria and in the coaching teams, trained by NBA.

Patience W., Senior Female Coach BE (Nigeria) : “BE has changed a lot about me e.g. the way I communicate with people. I have learned to show empathy and teaching this to students in schools makes me want to check myself every minute because I am what I teach. Sports is one of the most powerful platforms for promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls. BE is leveraging on this platform to engage more girls in sports (basketball) while introducing values and morals to them via the Jr. NBA values”.

Hamza A. L. male student, 14 years old, (Morocco) : “I can say that BE program has almost saved my life as an adolescent who could have gotten in trouble. Many boys my age have to manage the problems they face in life, whether at home, in school, or on the street, by using drugs, and other substances, but in my case, this program helped me fill my time with sports, learn how to control my fear and frustration, take care of my health, and stimulate my other friends and classmates. It’s a wonderful new world to me!!”

Ensuring equal opportunities for females and males

Basketball Experience has developed a gender-neutral approach ensuring that equal opportunities are provided for females and males at all levels of the program from coaching to youth participation.

Through the years, across all the activities, a ratio of 49 % of male and 51 % of female has been reached in Nigeria and the exact ratio in Morocco for the participation of youth aged  10 to 18 years old.

The program and the activities try to create a balance between sport and life skills, such as self-confidence and empowerment , throughetc.  basketball. With a non-gender approach, to guarantee the participation of girls, sanitation facilities and cloakrooms dedicated to boys and to girls are guaranteed in the premises built for the program.

Considering that sport is one of the most important platforms to develop gender equality, Basketball Experience takes at heart young girls’ access to the program, but also encourages female coaches’ participation.

In each country, 10 female and 10 male coaches are trained by the NBA and deployed by the local agency to deliver the program in the schools. The presence of female coaches reassures  the young girls and give them the confidence to participate in the BE program, and in sports in general.

Bushra A., female student, 16 years (Nigeria) : “My name is Abdulkareem Bushira I am in SS 2 and I am 16 years old. The program has benefited me in so many ways, I am just going to name one point. Through the basketball experience program, I now know more about how I can control my emotions and it has also taught me more about basketball. I have been hearing about basketball and had no idea of how to play but our coach (she) taught me the basics. She taught us about emotional intelligence and how to manage my own emotions and how I can also get to know myself by realizing my weakness and strengths. The game of basketball now means a lot to me thanks to the BE program.”

Abdelmajid M. – BE Male Coach (Morocco) : “In the beginning, this program was seen by some girls as any other school subject that is imposed on them, but now I see their passion and their eagerness to learn and to improve. They even try on several occasions to demonstrate their strength and talents and show their superiority over some boys' teams. I can say as a coach being close to the youth and friendly with them have helped me build good relationships with them which motivated them”

In 3 years, Basketball Experience has reached more than 50 000 children through various activities with a female participation

The success of introducing gender equality as part of the Basketball Experience program is also part of the encouragement of parents in the practice of sports. Women used to be persuasive to their parents to practice sports and could have a hard time persuading their parents to authorize them to practice sports outdoors or even in clubs and associations. Today, their parents  encourage them to practice sports alongside boys. Where BE is implemented, the program provides equal training opportunities to both genders at the level of life skills, physical exercises and basketball techniques in Morocco and Nigeria, now deployed in Senegal and soon to be implemented in Kenya.