The “Strengthening Social Cohesion and Inclusion through Sports among Refugee and Turkish Youth Project” yesterday completed the third period of its inaugural year. This milestone was celebrated with a year-end event at the Ankara Altındağ Örnek Stadium which included an interactive presentation from the TOC’s Sports Culture and Olympic Education Programme (OLI).
Launched to support social cohesion among refugees and Turkish youth, the project is supported by a coalition comprising the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympic Refugee Foundation (ORF), Ministry of Youth and Sport of Turkish Republic, TOC, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (SGDD - ASAM).
The Project’s one-year celebration saw tens of children practising dance performances and enjoying the TOC’s OLI presentation. Additionally, the event enabled youth to leverage their sports culture, embrace Olympic values and raise awareness on key topics such as the environment, healthy nutrition and fair-play.
Throughout the past year, the project has organised a number of sport and physical activities to increase interaction between refugee and host communities, and to improve the physical and emotional wellbeing of disadvantaged children.
The project showcases the incredible power of sport to bring people together and be a powerful driver for social change. By uniting people through sport, refugees and local children are able to develop solidarity, increase their self-confidence and develop a sense of belonging to the host country.
In the next period, the project will continue to welcome newcomers in five Turkish cities, including Ankara, Bursa, Mersin, Samsun and Şanlıurfa, where youth will be able to try six different sports with translators and professional coaches.