Organization: International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA). Host nation(s): India

# Project: 38

Presentation
The project operates in a country where girls and women are not actively encouraged to play sports, and the use of a female-friendly sport such as netball has been a unique factor in the project’s success. Naz is a Delhi-based organization which has focused on HIV and sexuality issues since 1994.
In 2006, it was approached to implement a pilot project based on a model of "sports-based social inclusion" that would aim to empower women, entitled GOAL and which is a collaborative, multi-stakeholder initiative linking the private and NGO sectors. The Naz Foundation India Trust developed, delivers and implements the program, coordinating across India and working directly with young women. The program is entirely funded by Standard Chartered Bank.

Objectives
Netball is the world’s most popular female participation sport (though this is not the case in India) and IFNA felt strongly that with the right model, it could be used to address issues faced by girls and also tap into a new audience of young women. GOAL's aims are to increase self-confidence and self-esteem as well as the basic knowledge of the issues it addresses. The global expansion of the project will target girls in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Jordan with a training program including sport, financial literacy, health and hygiene, communication skills and rights.

Achievements
GOAL at its core is transformational: it changes girls’ opinions of themselves and their role in the world. Measuring success in qualitative terms is simple – all you have to do is talk to any of the girls who have participated. "Before [GOAL], I used to be very shy, even talking to the people with whom I live every day, like my father, my mother, I was so uncomfortable," said one participant. "But now it’s not like that. I am like a confident girl. Now when we meet, I speak.” The expansion of the program is expected to reach an estimated five million family and community members.

Website:
http://goalgirlsindia.blogspot.com/

Other links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMray23tiaM&feature=player_embedded