Italy: Stand Up Speak Up, a success on all fronts

Where have Stand Up Speak Up?s funds ended up? This campaign, promoted by Nike Europe, is the one that featured the now famous black and white intertwined bracelets worn by well known football stars of the likes of Thierry Henry, Ronadhino and Cannavaro. In only a few months these bracelets have become real objects of desire, especially among teens, but more importantly, it is through their sale that Nike has collected the funds to finance educational projects across Europe. The common aim that united the 201 projects that were chosen was to promote ?healthy football support? as the Stand Up Speak Up campaign focus was on raising awareness regarding racism in football stadiums. Today a conference called Sport against racism and violence in Milan highlighted some of the results achieved to date.

The Stand Up Speak Up project began in Italy in 2005 following Nike and Vita Consulting?s decision to join forces. The main message that they aimed to put across is summarized by Vita Consulting?s director, Giuseppe Ambrosio: ?racism is still an issue in football even though it is not talked about widely, or rather it is only talked about in relation to outbreaks of violence.? In 2005 the campaign was also launched across Europe with the sale of the black and white bracelets that symbolise the possibility of uniting all cultures and colours, even, or especially in the world of sport. The bracelets turn out to be a huge success and 500 thousand sales throughout the course of the year bring in a total of 8 million euros.

Nike?s campaign also counted on the support and partnership of one of the most important European foundations, the Roi Baudouin Foundation based in Belgium, to administer the funds and to organise the selection of the projects best suited to receiving financial endorsement from the Stand Up Speak Up campaign. A total of 201 projects were chosen in ten European countries – Spain, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Belgium, Luxemburg and Holland. The organisations that were chosen to take part in the campaign ranged from small education projects to fan clubs, from organisations that promote an anti-racist stadium culture to ones that promote immigrant integration through sport.

In Italy, the calls for projects was promoted by Vita consulting (the jury responsible for the independent selection of projects was coordinated by Candido Cannavò) and 17 projects were chosen across Italy. In total 16 thousand athletes were involved, 12 thousand football fans and almost 7000 school children. Nineteen anti-racist football tournaments were organised and 18 conferences that were backed up with a massive communications campaign ? thirty seven thousand flyers were distributed and 7000 posters ? reaching 385 thousand people. The real success as far as Italy was concerned was the promotional video directed by Luigi Falorni (a 2005 Oscar nominee) that was shown in various stadiums nation wide.

Lombardy Region?s president, Roberto Formigoni, said to be impressed and pleased with the campaign. He remarked that he was an ?enthusiastic football supporter? and that he believes there is the real need for a new conceptualisation of the meaning of sport, in an institutional sense as well. ?The Region must respond to the appeal that this campaign has launched: the objective is to create an alliance between institutions, professional football associations, amateur sport clubs and the companies? explained Formigoni, ?sport is a real opportunity for personal development and it is a means through which different cultures can mix. This is the perspective that must be endorsed at all levels?.