It’s World Refugee Day and we are thrilled to share with you our first Integration of Refugees through Sport videos and resources for grassroots sport organisations to use when working on activities with refugees and other initiatives that focus on social inclusion.

The Integration of Refugees though Sport projects led by ISCA and supported by Nordplus Adult and the Erasmus+ programme brought together experts from the Nordic countries, the UK, Italy and Germany to map and explore ways of integrating refugees into European societies through sport and physical activity.

We also asked refugees in Denmark about their own experiences and advice for clubs, authorities and other refugees about how to reach out and take a more inclusive approach. We captured their candid and compelling responses here and in this new peer-to-peer video.

The message that has recurred throughout the development of these Integration of Refugees through Sport resources is that sport and simple physical movements can be used as a momentary relief for refugees and can open doors to new social contacts and different cultures. And that sport and physical activity are also simply about people wanting to #PlayTogether.

So as we share these new resources we also share them with an invitation to clubs, local authorities, refugees and local citizens to #PlayTogether.

Practical advice and inspiration on new Integration of Refugees Through Sport platform

To share experiences and new ideas in this field and to inspire other organisations and clubs interested in the topic, we created the Integration of Refugees Through Sport e-learning platform with the goal of gathering all kinds of information related to sport, physical activity and refugees.

The platform consists of four parts. The implementation guide introduces you to the topic with an overview of relevant theory, the situation, the challenges and the barriers that sports clubs and NGOs face. It also gives you an overview of barriers from the refugees’ side and potential solutions. Successful examples from Europe and other parts of the world will give you inspiration from what is being done by other organisations in this field and hopefully ignite the positive spark in you. Tips and tricks will provide you with brief advice from organisations that have been working with refugees and have proven that it can be done.

We can also reveal that the e-learning part of the platform is coming up soon. With the help of videos and activities you will be guided through 5 topics on how to start with activities in your local community, what to take into consideration when working with different target groups, how to develop partnerships and how to encourage and support successful integration of refugees through sport and physical activity. Stay tuned by signing up for ISCA newsletter to be the first one to find out when e-learning will be launched.

Are you ready to #PlayTogether?

By Monika Resetar and Rachel Payne, ISCA