3 x 11 Actions for Respect
Thursday, June 8, 2023
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The Respect actions guide is an 'easy-to-use visual' for UEFA staff, volunteers and partners working on events detailing 11 simple actions in each of the following areas: protecting children, respecting the environment and respecting people.
While the document contains the actions and how to deliver them, the explanations behind these actions can be seen below.
11 actions to protect children
Always ensure the children are properly supervised. All supervisors must know where the children are at all times.
The child is the responsibility of the event organiser, who has a duty of care from the moment the child arrives under their supervision, until they leave. This duty of care applies to all staff.
Be alert to any danger or security threat. If something happens, please apply the event or stadium's medical guidelines and call security and/or emergency services.
Expedient action must be taken to provide the best possible care. Staff are acting as the responsible adults in all emergency situations.
Do not have physical contact with any child that goes beyond appropriate gestures. A child should never be alone with an adult.
Parents/carers need to feel confident that any contact between the children and the adults running the activity will be safe and appropriate.
Respect the privacy of children in bathrooms, accommodation and other areas.
A child has a right to privacy. This is a fundamental human right. It is important to respect a child's boundaries and privacy so that they feel respected and safe. Do not share images of children present on-site, and make sure nobody accesses unauthorised areas.
Report any concerns to the event's child and youth protection officer or to your line manager.
When not possible to solve the case directly on the spot, report it to the relevant person.
Reporting is crucial to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children. Make sure your team and supervisor are aware of every situation that can potentially be harmful or dangerous using the appropriate report form.
Exercise empathy and patience. Keep in mind that you are dealing with children. Always address and challenge instances of bullying and harassment.
If adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying, this sends a strong message that it is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
Ensure proper communication with the children, the child and youth protection officer and other colleagues on-site.
Children and team members need to be able to communicate their thoughts, opinions, ideas and feelings clearly and openly in a positive and respectful manner. Work together to make sure that anyone who needs additional support gets the assistance they require.
Use appropriate language in front of children. Try to be respectful, inclusive and easy to understand.
Children look up to adults. It is your duty to act as a role model, making sure you use appropriate language that is respectful, inclusive and easy to understand.
Cultivate an environment for healthy eating and prevent substance abuse.
It is important to promote a healthy diet and consumption. You must be attentive to risks relating to substance abuse, e.g. unhealthy diets, drug use, smoking, alcohol and performance-enhancing substances.
Ensure children are protected against extreme weather conditions.
It is sometimes difficult for children to understand and express their needs. Weather conditions can put children at risk. If it is particularly warm, make sure they are well hydrated and protected from the sun. In cold weather, ensure they are sufficiently covered. Breaks should be taken regularly.
Complete the online child and youth protection awareness raising training as well as the course for staff as an introduction to safeguarding.
It is essential to understand what child safeguarding in football means, to know how to prevent and minimise the risks and respond to incidents that might occur.
11 actions to respect people
Enforce a culture of respect and dignity in the workplace.
Place emphasise on acting and interacting with respect and inclusion as key values. Showing respect to all around us, and not discriminating against anyone. Treat people with courtesy, politeness and kindness, and encourage colleagues to express their opinions and ideas.
Establish diverse teams and working environments.
Take the time to learn more about the people around you and see the value of diverse thoughts and experiences. Address all aspects of diversity, identify and eliminate any bias and celebrate cultural differences. Diversity in the workplace is crucial to building a thriving working environment, it contributes to a pool of creativity, innovation and success.
Use language that makes everyone feel included, acknowledges diversity and conveys respect.
Using language that makes everyone feel included, language that acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. By choosing to use language that includes a wide range of individuals and groups, you can contribute to an environment of psychological safety and respect for all.
Approximately one in six people in Europe have at least one disability.
To ensure accessibility, it is important to know how you play a part in the stadium or working environment. Learn more about accessibility as well as how to welcome disabled colleagues or supporters.
Approximately one in six people in Europe have at least one disability. To ensure accessibility, it is important to know how you play a part in the stadium or working environment. Learn more about accessibility as well as how to welcome disabled colleagues or supporters.
Report all cases of discrimination and abuse.
Employees who feel safe and supported in the workplace are significantly less likely to choose to leave a workplace – and the opposite is true too. If you see or experience something that is not OK, speak up if you feel you can, and contact your manager or UEFA to report it.
Be attentive to children and young people in your vicinity.
If there are children or young people around, make sure they are safe and well looked after. Never leave them unsupervised, and make sure you are aware of UEFA's safeguarding policies.
Promote healthy options and healthy lifestyles (food and drink).
Care for your body by eating healthy meals and ensuring you drink enough water. During long days, try to have a healthy snack available to keep your energy levels up! Promoting the best workplace well-being possible can only have great results: encouraging teamwork, increasing productivity and reducing sick leave.
Be considerate of your mental health, and that of those around you.
Promoting a healthy lifestyle is about much more than healthy eating in the workplace. It is crucial to consider mental health at work too.
Take care of yourself by considering your own stress levels, and how you are doing emotionally. Mental health is just as important as physical health!
Read up on your rights.
In the workplace, know that there are regulations governing your working conditions. Make sure you keep to the regulated hours of work, and that you know where you can turn with questions. Knowing your rights as an employee can also help you see when you are working somewhere that provides an unsafe working environment.
Report cases of corruption and fair play problems.
If you see or experience something that falls outside of UEFA policies and protocol, speak up if you feel you can, and contact your manager or UEFA to report issues associated with fair play or possible corruption.
Emphasise collaboration, support and teamwork as core principles in the workplace.
We can only achieve our goals and deliver on our objectives by working as a team. Help those in need of additional support and ask for help when you need it. Team members need to be able to communicate their thoughts, opinions, ideas and feelings clearly and openly in a positive and respectful manner.
11 actions to respect the environment
Choose to walk, cycle or use public transport to travel to the venue/stadium.
Globally, the average person walks 5,000 steps a day, half of the recommended target and 3 time less than early humans.
Please don't travel alone in your car – carpooling is a great way to reduce congestion, save money, share costs, and enjoy someone else's company.
Globally, the average person walks 5,000 steps a day, half of the recommended target and 3 time less than early humans.
Carefully throw your waste in the right coloured bin.
90% of products are not recycled and end up in an incinerator, or worse, in landfill.
Use your own water bottle and fill it at the water fountains. Avoid buying plastic bottles.
In 2022, 481.6 BILLION plastic bottles were used worldwide, generating more than $1 billion worth of plastic waste, each year.
Don't leave the tap running when you are washing your hands.
You use 15l of water in 1 minute when you don’t stop the tap while washing your hands, and only 4l when you do.
Chose the right sized meal for you, and take home what you can’t finish.
Over a third of all food produced (2.5 billion tonnes) is lost or wasted each year.
Consider alternatives to meat, like plant-based food.
1 beef burger = 25 plant-based burgers in CO2e content
1 Big Mac = driving 15km
Select products with no (or as little as possible) packaging to not generate waste. Avoid plastics in particular.
The total quantity of generated packaging materials rose by 13.3 million tonnes from 2009 to 2020 (+20.1 %).
Switch off the light when you leave a room, unplug your phone when it's fully charged and don't leave the fridge door open.
Being careless with opening and closing your fridge wastes 100kWh a year. To put that into perspective, 100kWh could run your washing machine 50 times – a load of laundry every week for an entire year.
Close doors to save energy (heating or A/C), regulate the thermostat, and add or remove a layer of clothes if you get hot or cold.
50% of energy used in buildings in the EU is for heating and cooling.
Be a (green) advocate and ambassador to protect our environment.
Spread your enthusiasm to others, help then to make the right choices, be curious and creative, and don't not be afraid to ask when you're unsure.