ASSIST - Associazione Nazionale Atlete

Assist is a non-profit Volunteers Association founded in 1999 to promote and defend the rights and the image of female athletes and sport workers, to foster equality and respect in sport, contrast gender stereotypes and discriminations in sport, as well as promote a positive sports culture. Assist aims at protecting and representing the rights of female athletes of all sport disciplines at professional level, as well as of all the staff employed in the field of sport (trainers, sport managers, professional experts on sport communication). Assist also aims at raising awareness about all topics concerning Equal rights in sport, Equal access to sports practice and sports culture in general. In order to reach these objectives, Assist organizes national events, campaigns and conferences and produces Promotional materials and media campaigns. Assist achieved a historic result in 2019: the Italian State has set up a fund to support the maternity of athletes. The athletes were granted a contribution of one thousand euros for ten months. The result is particularly important, because it recognizes the work of the athletes even if in Italy they are not yet recognized by law as professionals. We are experienced in Erasmus+ Sport programme, with 2 collaborative partnerships active at the moment, "Step Up Equality" and "Fair Coaching". We are interesting in developing new ideas on gender equality, contrast to discriminations, youth, wellbeing and healthy lifestyle, in sport but not only. Assist will boost up the level of impact of the project’s activities, objectives and outputs, prepared, implemented and finalized at grassroots level, to institutional and official level, in order to create an impact on decision makers in the field of sport and equality. It was the first organization to create and implement a National Meeting of Female Athletes (Meeting Nazionale dello Sport Femminile), in 2016, together with the highest sport federations (Giocatori Italiani Basket Associati G.I.B.A., Associazione Italiana Pallavolisti A.I.P.A.V., Associazione Italiana Rugbisti A.I.R., Associazione Italiana Giocatori di Pallanuoto A.G.P., Associazione Italiana Allenatori di Calcio A.I.A.C.) and supported by the Italian Republic Senate. Assist has held about 15 major events / conferences / meetings both nationally and internationally, promoted institutional initiatives, petitions and surveys (both online and public campaigns to inform public opinion and collect signatures), communication and awareness campaigns. Assist was invited by important Italian national institutions as the Presidency of the Chamber of Deputies (2016), the Italian Senate (2016), CONI and various local and national institutions as relevant organization in the field of equality in sport (GIBA – Basketball Players Union – CONI-Italian Olympic Committee, Sport Federations…). Assist has contributed to the drafting of bills and the preparation of journalistic investigations on the subject of equality in sport and denied rights of female athletes, as well as the campaign to promote a law that protects female athletes maternity rights. Among its founding members, the Association counts top players from different sports, experts in sport media, communication and campaigns, as well as in female equality and gender mainstreaming.