From left to right: Esperanza, player for Sport Extremadura CD; Javier Lezcano, Executive Director of Fundación Xcalibur; Emilia Parejo, Equality Coordinator at the Diputación de Badajoz; Laura Blanco, Programme Director at Fundación Xcalibur; Juan Carlos Antúnez, coach of Sport Extremadura CD; Mariana, player for Sport Extremadura CD.
Source: Diputación de Badajoz.
- From the Equality Area, the Diputación de Badajoz is committed to the Well-being and Employability of Women (ByEM in Spanish) project created by Fundación Xcalibur.
- The main objective of the ByEM project is to contribute to the personal and professional development of 23 participants: the players of Sport Extremadura CD.
- After the personal and professional training sessions, the beneficiaries of the project will take what they have learned to towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.
- The training sessions include in-person workshops, webinars, and coaching sessions, delivered by 17 experts in personal and professional development.
Last Friday, May 24, Javier Lezcano, Executive Director of Fundación Xcalibur, and Laura Blanco, Programme Director, accompanied by Emilia Parejo, Coordinator of the Equality Division of the Diputación de Badajoz, presented the ByEM (Well-being and Employability of Women, Bienestar y Empleabilidad de la Mujer in Spanish) project in a press conference held at the Diputación de Badajoz. ByEM project at a press conference held at the Diputación de Badajoz. The ByEM project is supported by the provincial organization, which publicly announced its backing for the project throughout 2024.
This project involves the participation of the players from Sport Extremadura CD, a women’s football team competing in the 3rd RFEF Women’s Division. The event was attended by team players, who are active participants in the project, as well as part of the club’s technical staff, including their president, Fernando Pons, and the coach Juan Carlos Antúnez.
Blanco explained that the main objective of the ByEM project is to promote the well-being of this group of women, as well as the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge on personal and professional development. She also listed the specific objectives of the project:
- Ensure the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of the entire team through self-management, skills, and competencies.
- Provide tools, and professional skills.
- Implement Service-Learning (SL) dynamics, in which the players will pass on what they have learnt to girls and boys in towns of fewer than 20.000 inhabitants.
‘We want the participants to be the agents of change, they are the ones best suited to convey this message of equality to younger generations. They are now learning to internalize it, so they can pass it on,’ commented Javier Lezcano. Regarding involvement in the third stage of the project, the Programme Director added: ‘We are fortunate to have wonderful female participants who can convey important information to girls and children in general, who have many doubts. It is very important that these children have role models both on and off the field’.
The training sessions are conducted through workshops, online training to promote digitalization, group coaching sessions, and finally, SL sessions in schools and high schools. The project’s training staff includes a total of 17 experts in various fields to transmit this knowledge to the 23 female players of Sport Extremadura CD.
In conclusion, the Equality Coordinator emphasized the importance of sport as ‘one of the key elements in achieving the real equality between men and women that we strive for. Through sport, there is an empowerment of girls, as well as boys. A series of values are cultivated that are fundamental in developing their personality and future professional careers.’
This support from the Diputación de Badajoz strengthens the shared commitment with Fundación Xcalibur to advance gender equality and improve the well-being and employability of women through sport and education.
Source: Diputación de Badajoz.