Join our IGLYO International Youth Conference on LGBTQI Inclusion in Sports!

The Ball is in Our Court!

LGBTQI youth continue to face significant barriers to full and equitable participation in sports, and sports environments often remain exclusionary and unsafe spaces for LGBTQI young people. Marginalisation, homophobia, and transphobia are still prevalent in many sports settings, discouraging participation and limiting access to opportunities for personal and professional development.

LGBTQI young people come from diverse backgrounds, with their experiences shaped by intersecting factors such as gender identity, race, disability, and socioeconomic status. IGLYO recognises the compounded barriers that LGBTQI youth face in sports environments and structures due to homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, class, and other forms of discrimination.

With this in mind, IGLYO is developing a Qualitative Research Study on LGBTQI Inclusion in Sports and is organising an International Youth Conference in Brussels (Belgium) on 26-31 October 2025 on this topic. We will welcome 30 LGBTQI young activists from around the Council of Europe countries to get together for four days of exchanging good practices, capacity-building and advocacy on the topic of LGBTQI inclusion in Sports. 

Read our full call for participants and send us your application by Sunday 27 July 2025 at 23:59 CEST. If you want to take your involvement further, you can also also apply to join the Conference Advisory Panel (all info at the bottom of the call).

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With the support of

IGLYO is supported by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) 2021-2027 programme of the European Union, the Dutch Ministry of Education Culture & Science, and the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. The contents of the conference are the sole responsibility of IGLYO and can be taken in no way to reflect the views of the European Commission, Council of Europe, or Dutch Ministry.