Playing Together for Unity

13.12.2023

The Playing Together for Unity project is focused on creating an innovative non-formal training approach that connects sports activities with social inclusion. The project will collaborate with mediators, including physical education teachers and animators, who are dedicated to supporting Ukrainian refugees. By using sport games to encourage international interaction and increase physical activity levels, the project will promote positive values and habits related to integrity, social inclusion and fair play in sports. To achieve its goal of using sports as a non-formal education tool for promoting social inclusion, the project will undertake various activities.

These include researching games that can help foster a connection between physical activity and social inclusion for war refugees, developing a video compendium of 18 games that can assist animators in facilitating the social inclusion of Ukrainian refugees (6 of them will be Polish, 6 Ukrainian and 6 Czech) and training volunteers to implement the Social Inclusion Games among Ukrainian refugees. Additionally, the project will validate the skills acquired by 100 Ukrainian refugees in partner countries through the organization of two Inclusion Games Events at the national level. The project will also develop a leaflets with a QR code which, after scanning, will send you to videos with games. Leaflets will be distributed onwill Social Inclusion Games 

In summary, the project aims to promote social inclusion and raise awareness through sports as a non-formal method of education, which will involve various activities such as game research, volunteer training, and the development of a video compendium and leaflets with a QR code.

Background and general objectives of this project

The main goal of the "Playing Together for Unity" project is to develop an extracurricular training method that combines sports activities with the social inclusion of war refugees from Ukraine. Our actions will contribute to promoting non-formal education through sport, while simultaneously supporting the development of sports and social skills among refugees from Ukraine.

Sport creates the conditions for communication and building friendships. Thus, it carries a layer of social inclusion. Fulfilling the civic duty of integrating refugees from Ukraine with our communities contributes to the well-being of society. Sport plays a significant role in the development of skills and competencies for lifelong learning.

Partners of this project unite around the idea of developing tools that will use sport as a tool for non-formal learning and, through its use, positively influence the integration process of Ukrainian refugees. The project will implement sports activities to convey knowledge and skills from our cultures, values, sports rivalry, allowing us to better understand our customs and sports preferences. The project will target refugees from Ukraine who, to save their lives, have been forced to leave their homes. By involving them

in sports activities, we will build the foundations for international cooperation. This will contribute to the social inclusion of the project beneficiaries. The project's assumptions aim to provide non-formal education tools that can be used for social inclusion. Refugees from Ukraine, as the ultimate beneficiaries who do not actively participate in sports competition, can be engaged in the project by the staff of our organizations and volunteers. Through sports activities, they will be able to develop soft skills and reduce cultural differences, thereby reducing social barriers. 

According to the United Nations study, "Although sport alone cannot solve all the problems associated with the migration crisis, combined with other measures, it can potentially contribute to the integration and social inclusion of migrants and refugees. What sport can offer is a 'universal language' capable of transcending social, cultural, and national boundaries. In the best case, it can unite people regardless of their origin, background, religious beliefs, or economic status".

That is why our project has a high chance of success and provides a partial response to the worsening refugee crisis related to the war in Ukraine.