A representative of the Western Balkan Sport Innovation Lab (WBSI Lab), Prof. Dr. Radenko Matic, participated in the first transnational project meeting of the Erasmus+ Sport project WELEAD – WomEn LEADership in Sport: Promoting the Capacity of Sport Clubs to Increase Female Participation as Leaders, held from 8 to 10 July 2026 at the House of Sports in Vienna.
The WELEAD project aims to strengthen the capacities of sports clubs and organizations to increase women’s participation in leadership and other decision-making positions in sport. Through its involvement in the project, WBSI Lab contributes to the development of knowledge, educational content and practical solutions that can support greater representation of women in the management of sports organizations, particularly in the Western Balkan context.
During the first day of the meeting, the project partners presented selected examples of good practice in women’s leadership in sport, focusing on their innovative elements, achieved results and potential application in different national and organizational contexts. Prof. Dr. Radenko Matic has jointly presented and discussed the best practices from Montenegro as well as subsequently participated in interactive working groups dedicated to translating the identified best practices into the content of the future WELEAD training modules.
The working groups examined how existing experiences could contribute to defining the topics, educational content, learning outcomes and methodology of the training programme. Particular attention was devoted to adapting the educational content to different sports systems and to the needs of sports clubs and organizations.
The central part of the second day was dedicated to the results of the research conducted within the second work package (WP2), led by the University of Montenegro. Following the presentation of the main findings of the research report, representatives of the project partners – the Italian Association for Culture and Sport (AiCS), the International Workers and Amateurs in Sports Confederation (CSIT), the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina (OKBiH), Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures (SMOC), the University of Montenegro (UoM) and Western Balkan sport Innovation Lab (WBSI Lab) – analyzed how the identified needs and challenges should influence the development of the future training modules.
The consolidated conclusions of the working groups, the overall educational framework, the common module structure, expected learning outcomes, organization of the educational content, recommended duration of video lessons and supporting materials were also presented. One of the presentations was dedicated to a digital tool for the preparation and production of video materials, intended to ensure a consistent visual identity and common training format across all partner organizations. The presented example was created by Mr. Miodrag Zarubica from PASTECHL – the affiliated organization within WELEAD project.
The participants also discussed the Moodle platform structure, communication and dissemination activities, preparation of the blended learning programme, organization of the international workshop in Rome, forthcoming project outputs, deadlines and the allocation of responsibilities among the partners.
WBSI Lab’s participation in the Vienna meeting represents a continuation of its engagement in developing innovative and practically applicable solutions in sport. The Lab’s contribution to the WELEAD project is particularly important for transferring European experience and good practices to the Western Balkan context and for encouraging more equal participation of women in the management of sports organizations.