Girls want to dance. That is the message that came across loud and clear from the Nike Rockstar Workout Live weekend.

Dance is a form of self expression, a way to release feelings and tell a story. It keeps girls active, motivated and inspired. Dance is their sport.

The power of sport to educate is nothing new to Nike. So when the Moroccan L’Heure Joyeuse organization approached Nike seeking a way to reach socially excluded children, the answer was obvious; through dance.

L’Heure Joyeuse is a social organization who tackles children’s problems such as education, health and poverty. They wanted to set up a fun program for children that also dealt with health care, vaccination and education. Given the great success of the Moroccan Hip Hop culture, together with Nike it was decided dance would be the best way to reach these children.

Upon migrating to the Netherlands many women experience difficulties integrating into Dutch society. Often they feel depressed, isolated and contend with health problems because they think there is no other option.

In 2005 the Be InterACTive Start to Run program was born. The project uses sport as a tool for social inclusion for females from ethnic minority groups. Nike Netherlands has been a supporter of the Start to Run project since 2006 and continues to play an active role in changing women’s lives and creating new dreams through fitness.

Nawal El Moutawakel, is not only the first Muslim and African female Olympic champion, but she is also a modern day hero in her own right. Humble in nature, she is not one to sit back and feed off her success, instead this woman has dedicated her life to inspiring and empowering other women to do the same as she.

The Association Marocaine Sport et Développement (AMSD) was developed by Nawal with the hope of empowering women and youth through sport.

Imagine, as a woman, having to play sport in secret, in fear of the repercussions of your husband finding out. But what may be seem a fictitious scenario for many Westernised women is for several of our Rwandan sisters, in actual fact their reality.

Raised and bred to be working women, serving their husbands and children, many Rwandan women are sadly, neglected of their right to access and enjoy the benefits of sport.