Building Bridges Through Sport: Empowering Youth Workers to Foster Integration, Equality, and Human Rights for Migrants and Refugees
Summary
The idea of the project emerged from the need of all the organizations and their beneficiaries for the Europe-wide issue of integration of refugees, and migrants. In the era after the ̳Great Migration‘; summer of 2015, the Europeans became more aware of the struggles of people trying to reach the countries of Europe (people and children drowning, criminal smuggling networks, etc.) and the structural limitations of EU migration policy. The big wave of people migrating to Europe, either asylum seekers or irregular migrants, has put the spotlight on immediate needs not only for the protection of their rights but also for the provision of high living standards. Therefore welcoming solidarity towards newcomers needs to be maintained for as long as the migratory pressure persists and should be avoided early the marginalization and ghettoization. Critical implementers in this project are the main practitioners working with migrants and refugees directly; educators, youth workers, interpreters, and workers in relevant NGOs. To facilitate their input the project aims to create sustainable tools, based on non-formal education, which will not only be handy for youth workers and final receivers but also will promote the creation of equal opportunities and access to human rights. In order to do that the project avails of sports activities as a flexible and universal tool to communicate and connect young people with migrant or refugee backgrounds