Youth and the Refugee Integration through Sport in Europe (RISE project)
The Refugee Integration through Sport in Europe (RISE) youth exchange funded by the Erasmus + program took place in Malmö, Sweden for the last 7 days.
The World Refugee Day, 20th of June, has been an ultimate opportunity for ENGSO Youth and its partners to promote the role of sport for refugees’ social inclusion.
The 30 participants representing 6 different countries (Hungary, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Finland, and Sweden) have had the chance to learn about the role of sport for the inclusion of refugees. Based on non-formal education involving education through sport methods, the program of the youth exchange allowed participants to get a better understanding of the available tools and best practices for improving refugees’ lives.
The combination of sport activities with workshops, informal presentations and guest lectures gave to the youth a clear understanding of key European values such as intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding, and tolerance. Broadening their knowledge, the project also aimed at strengthening their soft skills and competences by gaining experience in teamwork with multicultural teams.
The 30 participants organized their own sport activities in cooperation with a local youth center working with disadvantaged children. After developing their own activities, the youngsters implemented intercultural games with the kids in one of the numerous parks in Malmö.
More than strengthening the European identity and values of the participants, the project allowed participants to discover each others’ culture while creating friendship and mutual understanding. Aiming to serve refugees’ interests, the participants have been asked to create projects with their national groups in order to implement the knowledge acquired during the week. These local initiatives will serve as dissemination tools of the RISE project in order to spread the word about the potential of sport for the better inclusion of refugees in Europe.
