BUCHAREST (Romania) – Being one of the successful recipients of the FIBA Foundation 2024 Propose a Project Program, the Romanian Basketball Federation hosted a memorable “Come, Learn and Play” event.
In 2024, the Propose a Project Program experienced a record-breaking year, receiving over 240 applications from all regions of the world. Applications were received from 89 countries which sets a very positive anticipation for the 2025 year.
The Come, Learn and Play project is a one-week event focusing on the promotion of basketball as an integral part of education and health – offering family and friends an opportunity to engage in a healthy and beneficial activity.
This project is inspired by the FIBA Open, a 3x3 basketball tournament in which the Romanian Youth Leaders took part during their seminars
Close to 200 participants attended the event which was hosted on 14 -21 September 2024 at the Arena de Baschet in Bucharest, Romania. Emphasizing inclusivity as a key objective, the event achieved an encouraging gender ratio representation of 55% male and 45% female participants.
On-site, the participants engaged in workshops, interactive basketball sessions, and a 3x3 basketball tournament. Through these various activities where they interacted with the coordinators and ambassadors, they learned numerous aspects of the game and its benefits.
This Basketball For Good project greatly influenced participants, such as the Popescu family, who rarely had time for family activities. It helped them reconnect and enjoy working as a team, leading to a new tradition of playing basketball together every Sunday.
The organization of this Basketball For Good event was led by Foundation Youth Leaders Ioana Stanciu (2023), Sarah Dumitrescu (2024), and Mircea Marin (2024), who work together to develop the movement in Romania
Various Federation members, as well as external stakeholders, were actively involved in organizing the event. Its success and positive reception from beneficiaries have helped strengthen the Basketball For Good footprint in the country, and primarily in the Bucharest community.
The Romanian Basketball Federation is now aiming to make a bigger impact across the country encouraging outdoor play and promoting basketball as a recreational activity for all. The goal is for “Come, Learn and Play” to become a recurrent project repeated to all regions of the country.
“From this project idea, we launched a new project named Hoops for Schools which consists of visiting four schools per month, in different regions of Romania where we incorporate basketball in schools' schedule,” said Stanciu.
The FIBA Foundation Propose a Project platform is open to applications until the 28th of February 2025.
Click here to submit your project.
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The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage.
The FIBA Foundation believes that basketball has the power to empower, educate, and inspire youth and facilitates this by implementing Basketball For Good projects around the world.
FIBA