• Open Call

    Beyond Imagination: Transforming Sport for All
  • Sport has always held the power to inspire, unite, and spark joy. At its best, it creates spaces where people move freely, connect deeply, and celebrate both individuality and community. Yet, for many, especially those within LGBTQIA+ communities, access to this joy has long been shaped by exclusion, erasure, and inequality. 

    In these conditions, imagination becomes a lifeline: a way to picture something better, to feel what is possible before it exists.

    To be marginalised is to be isolated, to live life on the fringes of a world that does not accept you. To survive this world, imagination becomes a solace, an alternative reality. These dreams provide a means to live a life you have always wanted, free from prejudicial gaze. Imagination is a survival tool of the oppressed; to generate change requires interrogating reality and dismantling local, national, and global structures that have long excluded those who do not fit privileged norms. 

    Held in conjunction with the Cardiff Eurogames 2027, this conference invites scholars, activists, practitioners, artists, athletes, and policymakers to co-create a manifesto for inclusive transformation that moves us beyond imagination. 

    Across two days of conversation, collaboration, and connection, we will move beyond the imagined and toward the possible.

    The conference is shaped by four cross-cutting streams:

    • Safety
    • Parity
    • Integrity
    • Joy

    More information on each of the themes can be found here.

    We invite individuals to submit to a range of outputs to any of the four streams.  The timeline below outlines when you will hear if your submission has been successful.  If successful, you and any co presenters will need to register for the conference and accept the conference code of conduct.

  • Details

    Theme: Beyond Imagination - Transforming Sport For All

    Date: 12-13th July 2027

    Location: Cardiff, Cymru (Wales)


    The Organising Committee for this conference consists of:

    • Lou Englefield - Pride Sports 
    • Helen Williams - Breaking Binaries 
    • Katrina Pritchard - Breaking Binaries 
    • Sheree Bekker - The Feminist Sports Lab
    • Piara Powar - FARE Network 
    • Jess Williams - Cardiff EuroGames 2027
  • Formats

    We welcome methods of dissemination that centre LGBTQ+ experiences. We encourage reframing these concepts given as four themes in a way that reveals the paradoxes, tensions, and realities of achieving these when examined through the lens of inclusion. 

    Paper Presentation
    Papers should offer critical, creative, or practice-based insights that interrogate exclusion and advance inclusive transformation in sport. We welcome work that challenges dominant narratives, surfaces lived experiences, and contributes to building more just, equitable, and joyful sporting futures.

    Workshop
    Workshops should create participatory spaces that centre shared learning, embodied practice, and collective problem-solving. Proposals should demonstrate how participants will be actively engaged in exploring, challenging, and reimagining sport as a more inclusive space.

    Panel Discussion
    Panels should bring together a range of voices and experiences to explore tensions, contradictions, and possibilities within inclusive sport. We encourage formats that move beyond traditional discussion to foster dialogue, audience participation, and critical exchange.

    TED-Style Talk
    These talks should present bold, accessible, and thought-provoking ideas that inspire action and reimagine what sport can be. We particularly welcome storytelling that connects personal experience with broader social change.

    Posters (allocated time during the 2 days to present)
    Posters should visually and creatively communicate research, ideas, or practice that engage with inclusion in sport. Presenters will be invited to share and discuss their work in an informal, dialogic setting that encourages connection and exchange.

    Spoken Word
    Spoken word submissions should centre voice, identity, and lived experience as powerful tools for resistance, and imagination. We welcome performances that challenge exclusion and celebrate LGBTQ+ belonging, movement, and joy in sport.

    Film
    Film submissions should explore stories, experiences, or critiques that illuminate inclusion, and transformation in sport. We encourage creative and experimental approaches that provoke reflection and dialogue.

    Other – feel free to propose
    We actively encourage proposals that disrupt traditional formats and offer new ways of gathering, sharing, and imagining together. If your idea creates space for connection, challenges dominant structures, or centres marginalised voices, we want to hear from you!

  • Submissions

  • Please state which of the conference themes' your session aligns with:
  • 0/300
  • 0/150
  • Timeline

    Call Opens — June 2026
    The invitation is live—submit your ideas, your questions, and your visions for transforming sport.

    Submission Deadline — 30 September 2026
    Proposals must be in—this is your moment to share your voice and what you are imagining.

    Review Period— October - November 2026
    Our team reads each submission, holding space for diverse perspectives, critical insight, and transformative potential.

    Decisions Released — Early December 2026
    You’ll hear from us—whether you’ll be joining us to co-create this collective space of dialogue and change.

    Work With Us — January–March 2027
    Confirmed contributors will receive further guidance and support to shape sessions that are engaging, inclusive, and impactful.

    Programme Launch — April 2027
    The full programme goes live!

    Conference — 12–13 July 2027
    We gather to connect, challenge, celebrate, and move beyond imagination—toward building sport as a space of safety, parity, integrity, and joy.

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