In the week leading up to Coming Out Day on 11 October, many workshops were planned! Unfortunately, not all of them could take place due to the virus. Fortunately, the workshops at Alfa College in Groningen and CSG Noordik in Almelo were able to go ahead. Below you will find a report on these events.

Four wonderful workshops at Alfa College in Groningen

Four workshops were scheduled for Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 October at Alfa College in Groningen. Each group consisted of approximately 10 first-year students from the Sports and Exercise programme. The workshops were given by Paul Martin Raspe and Jan-Willem Bouw from the John Blankenstein Foundation.

The students participated enthusiastically in the various sessions. Although the theme was the same for each group, namely diversity and LGBTI+ in sport, we had four completely different workshops thanks to the input of the groups. Questions that were addressed included: ‘What is diversity? ’What does the word ‘gay’ evoke in you?‘ and ’Do you know anyone in your circle who belongs to the LGBTI+ group?' In addition, various videos were shown and Jan-Willem told his own story.

There were some great open discussions with plenty of interaction between and with students. All comments and questions that came up could be asked. Some of the boys indicated that they had never discussed this topic before and that this was actually the first time they had done so during the workshop. It also became apparent that religious beliefs still play a major role in the acceptance of homosexuality in general and in sport. After a number of workshops, some students stayed behind to chat and ask for more information on this topic. The workshops were also very well received by teachers, who even indicated that this topic might be included in the teaching materials as standard. We look back on two wonderful days during which we once again witnessed some very interesting dialogues.

Thank you Alfa College Groningen for your warm welcome! We felt very welcome and look forward to returning in November to discuss the topic of diversity with more classes.

Would you like to make diversity more discussable at your school or club? You can do so via this link. You can use the same link to contact us if you need a confidential conversation. Talking always helps!

CSG Het Noordik workshop also a success!

Sportbedrijf Almelo has firmly established the week of 5 to 11 October as Coming Out Week.
Almelo calendar set by running a very active campaign entitled: Aj oezelf
Be yourself! (As long as you are yourself!).

On Tuesday, 6 October, a special event was organised for the pupils of the sports classes HAVO 4 and 5.
CSG Het Noordik is hosting a workshop organised by the John Blankenstein Foundation. This
The workshop was given by Floor Popken and Casper Boom.

It was a lively workshop with lots of interaction and mutual respect and understanding.
Kim de Wild was present on behalf of the Sports Company, and there was also a representative from
from COC Twente Achterhoek were present to experience what a workshop entails.
The workshop concluded with a quiz, and the winner of the quiz received a whole
Beautiful captain's armband in rainbow colours.