FC Barcelona celebrates European Diversity Month in May

May is European Diversity Month and FC Barcelona is celebrating it with several activities, promoted by the Diversity and Inclusion Area, which reaffirm its commitment to social awareness and to building a more diverse club, promoting inclusive communication, recognising diversity in all areas (gender, sexual orientation, functional and cultural diversity) and offering a response to discriminatory conduct. For all these reasons, during this month of May, starting on Sunday, a series of inclusive workshops, talks and sporting events will be held, both in the public and internal spheres, with the aim of promoting spaces for reflection to raise awareness among society and promote diversity at FC Barcelona.

Talks on sports and LGTBI+ people

In Auditorium at La Masia, Joan Miró, president of Panteres Grogues, will be giving different talks throughout the month of May on sport and LGTBI+ people to the coaching staff of the handball, basketball, roller hockey and futsal sections, as well as to tutors and instructors at La Masia. The talks also form part of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, on May 17, and aim to offer a overview of the gay community, offer tools to help coaches to understand the different situations that they might encounter and be able to act both proactively and reactively, taking advantage of the Panteres Grogues' experience in the world of sport.

These talks by Panteres Grogues are the result of the collaboration agreement that the club signed with the association on February 18 on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia in Sports, whereby the club has agreed to support the campaign against homophobia and discrimination for reasons of sexual orientation in sport and society, and for which purposes a new text has been added to the FC Barcelona Statutes.

Guide to inclusive and non-sexist communications

Internally, a Diversity and Inclusion Working Group (GDI) has been created, made up of employees from all areas of the club to foster diversity and inclusion based on concrete actions. FC Barcelona and the Barça Foundation have drawn up an Inclusive and Non-Sexist Communication Guide and throughout the month of May, employees will have the opportunity to participate in a workshop to gain first-hand knowledge about the application of the gender and inclusion perspective to both internal and external communications to members, fans, the media, the digital community, and so on.

Talk on cultural diversity at La Masia

Meanwhile, the La Masia Continuing Education Classroom will hold a talk for resident boys and girls on May 12 titled Sport as a Means for Social Integration, to be given Cameroonian author Roland Fosso, a specialist in issues of immigration, solidarity and development, in association with the private El Putxet Foundation. The meeting will also feature a volunteer from the Raval Children's Centre, the Malian Tchacka Doumbia, and will be chaired by journalist Lu Martín.

The Barça Foundation to play for functional diversity

The Barça Foundation Genuine team, made up of people with functional diversity, will also be taking part in these events on Sunday 8 May 8 at 11.00am CEST in their first international match against the French side Seignosse Capbreton Soustons, at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, and on the weekend of May 13, 14 and 15 they will be in Malaga for the second phase of LaLiga Genuine Santander, after having won the first three games of the competition.

This month, the Barça Foundation will also be participating via its social inclusion project in Japan, financed by the company Konami, and will support different Japanese social and sports organisations to help create a more egalitarian and inclusive society, using sport as an instrument for the inclusion of people with functional diversity.

And on May 31, the Foundation is holding an exchange day involving players from the Barça roller hockey section and the Diversitat Les Corts project, which gives access to sport to children with functional diversity.

And throughout the month of May, there will be a campaign on social networks featuring information and advice about inclusive sport in the form of small educational capsules based on the experience gained in the different projects carried out by the FC Barcelona Foundation.

Agreement with Apropa Cultura to make culture accessible

Through its museum, FC Barcelona will also be signing an agreement this May with Apropa Cultura, an inclusive network of cultural programmers who come together to facilitate access to culture for people in vulnerable situations through charity organisations. The idea is to make visits to the museum easier for groups at risk of social exclusion or with functional diversity, and museum staff will also be trained in terms of accessibility and diversity.

Finally, on a sporting level, this month of May will also be important for UNES Barça, the club's wheelchair basketball team, which is fighting for promotion to the Division d'Honor.

Statement by Elena Fort, vice-president of the FC Barcelona Inclusion Area

“At FC Barcelona we work every day to build a more inclusive and diverse club to be closer to our members and fans from all over the world. In this context, we wanted to join the European Diversity Month promoted by the European Commission, to celebrate this work and raise awareness of the importance of building a fairer and more equal society for everyone. Likewise, we are proud to be able to begin, as part of the actions proposed for this May, honouring the agreement that was recently signed with Panteres Grogues, through workshops aimed at the club's technical, coaching and educational staff so that they have the necessary tools to carry out their work in full appreciation of the differences of each individual”.