The second one of these online stakeholders meeting took place on August 22nd, 2023 with the presence of distinguished participants that brought in valuable different angles of view. Participants consisted of BIDEV Trustees and experts Gökhan GERMAN, Necati GÜLER, Fatih SÖYLEMEZOĞLU, Emir TURAM, Turhan KORAY, Tuğba GÜZEL, NGO director/projectexpert İlknur DİNÇ, youth coaches Utku İSKİT, Ömer Faruk AKARİ, İrem GÜVEN, A. Can ÖZKAN, basketball referee Murat Berk KAYA and senior students of the Bilgi University School of Sports Management Yamaç AYTEKİN and Doğukan ERBEK.
After a brief summary of ongoing project works, the discussion evolved around the input from all participants along 2 major questions, with the following summarised outcomes:
1. How we can enrich our upcoming 3x3 Basketball Tournament during European Week of Sport with the involvement of local stakeholders - who could we invite? What are your suggestions to provide additional value to this event with the 3I principles of EWoS (Involvement, Inclusive, Innovative)?
⦁ Children generally enjoy shooting competitions and talent competitions-style courses.
⦁ It would be very beneficial to have participation from active athletes and well-known ‘current’ names. Children might not know athletes of earlier times, but they would be more motivated and willing because they know current and popular athletes, so the project would provide more interaction in the visibility/dissemination direction.
⦁ It is very important to use social media effectively within the scope of the project.
⦁ Considering the intense interest of the participants in sports and basketball, it was stated that it would be useful to give children information about refereeing.
⦁ Not every child who plays basketball may become a professional basketball player, but they can chart a different career by staying within the industry and without moving away from the gym environment they enjoy – thus providing a sustainable contribution to society.
2. What are your prior suggestions towards the content of the Memorandum of Understanding we will be working to put together to increase intersectoral cooperation in the basketball field for social empowerment?
⦁ Integration of sports and education.
⦁ Better/more effective training modules in sports.
⦁ Better/more effective communication with children.
⦁ Pedagogical education and the proliferation of sports psychologists in infrastructures: Most coaches who are underqualified (and also some who don’t care) harm the psychology of young athletes in sports (basketball) academies.
⦁ Incorporating pedagogical education into the system would help.
⦁ In addition, basic/general sports training should be taken more seriously at grassroots levels and the age of branching out into a specific sport should be postponed a little more, if possible.
⦁ A serious setback to consider is the problem of employing unlicensed or under-licensed coaches (or ‘renting’ a license.) This is a very serious problem. Where there is no merit, there is no development – hence no success and very limited happiness.
The third online stakeholder meeting will be organized as a ‘wrap-up’ of the first two meetings with the specific goal of focusing on the content of the MOU being prepared.