What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?

Grace is an individual who campaigns for a (larger) social cause using viral, media & creative platforms to create visibility and generate traffic.

What approach does your initiative incorporate?

Knowledge/educational materials

What stage is your project?

Ongoing project

Year the initative began:

2008

Website:

http://www.nikegamechangers.com

Youtube Video:

www.nikegamechangers.com
www.nikestudio.info

Barrier:

Social stigmas and prohibitions

Insight:

Make the first step easier

Do you have any existing partnerships? If so, please list and describe.

Grace was discovered by Akwos and is the “rolemodel” of Akwos who draws international attention. Their collaboration is extremely important, because Akwos can work with her on a grass roots level. NIKE Grace is one of the leading faces of the Nike Gamechangers campaign. Nike supports her by financing media productions for her and by showcasing her on www.nikegamechangers.com. They are also helping by introducing her to other collaborators. TROI Grace works closely with media company Troi studio (based in Amsterdam). They help her create her viral campaign material and create openings to people in the “creative scene” who are her "early adopters". One of the early adopters is the artist Rajae El Mouhandiz, who is helping her on many levels, from sounddesign, and creating media and a “hero” brand. SHORTLIST iD Grace will be collaborating with Shortlist iD, a community of international models who will fundraise for her May 2009 and who will showcase her.

How many people does your innovation serve or plan to serve? Exactly who will benefit?

* 10 districts in Rwanda * Starting with 10 aspiring coaches * Resulting in 2000 young girls who train * Affecting 100.000 people in the start up phase and resulting into a small group of future professionals, who will dedicate all their time to Women’s soccer in Rwanda and internationally

In which sector do these partners work? (Check all that apply)

How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?

From 2003 Grace was a referee and her first objectives were to motivate others girls and women to do the same. After refereeing, her plan was to become a good coach, a good example to other women, a coach of the National team and to motivate them as the first female coach in her country who also attends international trainings in and outside country. She achieved these objectives and showed what it takes to be a gamechanger, no matter what the circumstances are. Now, by campaigning on a larger scale more girls in Rwanda will be able to do sports and to empower themselves. The larger impact will be that after a history of tragedy Rwandan girls are using sports as a tool to move into a new era. Objectives: 1. To increase the number of women soccer teams and players 2. To have good players in different stages of age. 3. To promote gender equity in Football 4. To motivate collaboration between women teams and the Government

Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact

The tone of voice of the Nike Gamechangers campaign is all about getting involved and beating the odds.

What does impact/success look like? Please list any tangible measures of the impact of your innovation

1000 new female coaches/players in several districts in Rwanda. - Promotion of women Football in Rwanda - The number of women coaches will be increased - The number of women teams will be increased.. - Their emancipation process & development will also be increased

Is there a chance that your project could change policy (within an institution or government)?

Not yet

Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow the initiative or expand your intended impact?

Expected outcomes 1. There will be a change of understanding and behavior of all Rwandese regarding women's soccer. 2. The women teams will increase 3. The women teams will become strong and well organized because they will have good programs and monitoring systems 4. Promotion of women's soccer will be done professionally 5. Making Grace visible to a large international audience by connecting her to communities who can generate traffic (social/nike/fashion communities)

How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?

by small fundraising initiatives and by generating traffic to her page on Global Giving.com

If your project is already up and running, tell us your:

Annual budget

none, yet. Grace thus far receives $120 per month, 6 months per year from Akwos

Annual revenue generated

none, yet

Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers)

unknown

What are the main barriers to financing your initiative, and how do you plan to address these barriers?

- Lack of national and international sponsors in Rwanda, because it is a new given in Rwanda - Lack of support, which can help them to look for sponsors - Lack of personnel who can help to look for where they can get support. Grace uses the following ways to address these barriers: - By working with Nike Gamechangers, Akwos & TROI - By showing Rwandese the advantage of women coaches in women teams in order to look for support inside the country.

What are the major challenges with regards to partnerships?

- Access to frequent communication (telephone, internet and fax) - Lack of personnel in execution partnership activities. - Lack of time and resources to organize meetings to further evaluate & strategize together with Grace's partners. - Lack of sustainable support - Lack of practical knowledge in executing the project.

What was the motivation or defining moment that led to create this innovation? Tell us the story.

Since I was a young girl, I liked to play football with and against young boys. I continued practicing until I was selected for the national women football team. After that I have been a referee in the first division/league of the men's team. It was a good motivation for many women, because in a few months they started to follow my footsteps. In 2 years I changed my interest and I focused on coaching activities, where I needed to motivate other women to participate in coaching. Because of the lack of understanding of some Rwandese, I decided to train more women coaches who could help me to motivate others and to show every Rwandese that women have the capacity of doing the same activities like men. My second motivation is that I need to show and to share the knowledge that I acquired at the University where I studied different sport activities including the coaching of Rwandese women. I also visited Germany to learn from my peers in order to professionalize my skills and I’ve visited The Netherlands, where I had the chance to work and train with The Dutch National women’s soccerteam.

Please tell us about the social innovator behind this initiative

After noticing that no woman in Rwanda has ever been a referee and after my experience of becoming the first referee, many women have been motivated. Because of that I was chosen to become a coach, in order to motivate other the women to do the same. Then after becoming a coach, I started thinking of different ways to increase the number of women coaches. After a while I met with Nike, with Troi studio and they helped me formulate a campaign strategy to support my plan for women’s football.

This field has not b Marie Grace NYINAWUMUNTU