Gaia Diakhite Becerra has joined Badminton Europe’s Communication team through the European Solidarity Corps programme.
At 22 years old, Gaia Diakhite Becerra has already gotten to experience a wide variety of environments. “It has allowed me to become open-minded and adapt easily to the different cultures that I have been exposed to.” With three nationalities – French, Spanish, and Senegalese – and speaking five languages – French, Spanish, and English fluently, as well as German and Arabic – Gaia is ready for a new experience in a new sport for her.
Always ready for a new challenge
Gaia has always been a big sports fan, with swimming and rugby among her favourites to practice, while tennis and rugby are the two of the sports, she follows the most. She was born in Germany, moved later to France, and finished high school in South Africa before moving to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where she obtained a bachelor’s in communication. She then went on to do a master’s in communication and Sports Journalism at the Real Madrid Graduate School.
“I think I’d known for years that I wanted to work in the Sports industry, I just hadn’t really figured out under which capacity. I chose Badminton Europe as it presented an excellent opportunity to dive right into the sports world within a renowned sports confederation — and I’m always up for a new challenge in a foreign country!”
A year ahead with big goals
Building a more inclusive society and responding to societal challenges are among the core values of the European Solidarity Corps Programme and these are also of great importance to Gaia. “As a young African woman, I know about the importance of inclusivity and the challenges underrepresented communities often face, which is why I aim to inspire and encourage others from diverse backgrounds to participate in the growth of Badminton and take on leadership roles in the sports industry.”
Gaia has also combined her love for sports and her passion for inclusivity to write many articles on gender inclusivity in the game. “Women love sports as much as the next person and are physically capable of delivering captivating and entertaining performances. Giving them the platform to do so has demonstrated that audiences are genuinely drawn to women's sports,” Gaia stated on the issue of inclusivity.
After a month in the Communication team and with eleven more to go, Gaia has some goals set for what she hopes to achieve. “This programme will hopefully help me gain valuable experience to enhance my future job prospects. I am particularly interested in improving my ’on-field’ skills, including conducting interviews and providing live social media coverage. Parallelly, I aim to maintain and refine my writing abilities and improve my understanding of SEO techniques.”