News from Bulgaria

 

Association Footura implemented the local training course activities set out in the MATCH project - with more than 40 participants from the circles of young people at risk of social exclusion and disadvantage, as well as representatives of the migrant communities. The slogan of the seminar and sports activities was "Еnhance social inclusion and equal opportunities for refugees and disadvantaged young local people by fostering and increasing participation in sport activities". We did the two training-application modules - first one in 2 activity days (21.10.2017 - 22.10.2017) and the second - in 3 activity days (from 01.12.2017 to 03.12.2017)

 

We had many youths with a migrant background, most of them from Afghanistan. Among the Bulgarian youths we had several disadvantaged youths in a social, economic and geographical context. During these activities, we had a special guest: Asya, a youth delegate in the UN. Allof the participants were interested in sport, and in particular in the social meaning and dimensions of sport.

 

We started with some introductory topics as "Presentations of the work of Footura, Match project and the Training Course itself", "Participants’ expectations, believes and concerns", "What are the benefits of participating in Match TC", "Overview of Local Meetings", etc. Then we introduced our qualified facilitators - participants in the training course in Palermo a few months earlier, which offered a number of interesting presentations and discussions of the participants, dictated both by the aims and ideas of the project, as well as by the current status of social processes and opportunities for social inclusion (through sport). Our facilitators' topics corresponded to their activity profiles - youth workers and sports coaches.

 

We had a special participation of Ventsislav Stoykov – Sports expert in the Match project, who held two discussions with the following topics: "Coaching Sport in Social Inclusion – Summary" and "Role of the coach".

 

Everyone had a special Match T-shirt and the teams held a challenge football match, finishing without a winner but with many positive emotions and friendly moments.

 

Sport and inclusion in Greece

 

In January 2018 it was time for our Refugee Team’s trainings “Coaching Sport in social inclusion” to take off. The sessions started with the president of the Greek Forum of Refugees, Yonous Muhammadi, making a presentation of the project and how it is a tool for connection, interaction and inclusion.

 

 

Photo by Heerlen-Maastricht-Sweikhuizen

 

 The Dutch Experiences

 

A few months ago, we travelled to Palermo for the Match project. To join the course about sports & social inclusion. We took home to our own countries all the information and experiences during this course, in order to implement the 3-fulltime training days around the Asylum seekers centre with asylum seekers, refugees, locals/disadvantaged group.

First of all, during the 3-day training we explained the aim of MATCH project, our working backgrounds and what we learned in Palermo. Secondly, we provided our training group with all the information concerning the 3-day training course. During these 3 days, we built up subjects in order to experience practical activities and implement the skills related to sport and social inclusion. Indeed, after the 3-day training course participants learned:

 

• The benefits and values of sports
• Organisation and communication skills
• The importance of participation of youngsters in sport activities
• How to create a tool box of sport activities related to social inclusion

Italy: Coaching Sport in social inclusion

 

In December 2017, the local training course Coaching sport in Social Inclusion, lasting 5 days, took place in Palermo (Italy), involving 20 young migrants coming from Africa (Cameroun, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal) and locals from CEP, a sensitive area of Palermo.

 

During the training participants first learned how to know each other with energizers and team building activities. Once the team spirit was set up, they acquired different skills and knowledge on sport and social inclusion through non-formal activities.

 

After talking about stereotypes, participants discovered Mediterraneo Antirazzista, a local good practice, which uses sports activities to fight social exclusion.

 

On the 3rd day participants had the chance to know more about potential injuries and more generally how to ensure safety within sport activities. In particular, they learned about the necessity of work-out and how to implement one with few materials. They could put this new knowledge into practice on the next day, organizing a football tournament in a complex neighborhood of the city of Palermo.

 

Last, but not least, participants were given the task to plan sport activities with children. They had to organize an agenda including a sport/game from their country, with a specified number of children and materials. This final activity was necessary for the implementation of the following activities. Indeed, in the next few months, participants will conduct sport and educational activities with youngsters in a public space that will be renovated.

Local Training Course in Sarajevo

 

The Local Training Course in Sarajevo was based on the experiences and knowledge gained during the International Training Course held in Palermo. The great number of interested students and other related institutions made it easier for the lecturers at the LTC to present the envisaged material and conduct the training. Some of the participants helped us in expressing our creativity in presenting the material and the „games“, but also contributed to teaching others how to behave towards people who are socially excluded. The training took place over a period of five days. On the first day, we presented our agenda and discussed the main aims of the training. Afterwards, lecturers introduced the concept Inclusion: for instance, Dr. Dino Mujkić gave a talk on Inclusion vs. Exclusion, Opportunities and relations within EU, and between EU and BiH, while Dr. Izet Rađo talked about sport as a tool for building respect and understanding among people with different social backgrounds.

 

The lectures which followed were very beneficial as well, specifically because they were presented by people working within the system of social inclusion and with different target groups. All the lectures that were presented were based on personal experience, which for the other lecturers and participants also brought forwards the feeling of compassion, and positive energy.

 

Between each session, practical activities were held in a form of „games“. In addition, specifically, we have noticed that our participants enjoyed the games; it brought them together and gave them a full understanding of social inclusion, because the games were designed to evoke teamwork, trust and understanding.

 

We believe that we have presented the concept and the importance of inclusion, and that we were able to pass on the experiences and the knowledge to other participants. Most importantly, we hope to have awakened their volunteering spirit and to have directed it to social inclusion possibilities through sport.

 

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