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dicembre 17, 2021 - Ioc

Sport for Refugees Coalition reiterates commitment to creating sports opportunities for refugees

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16 Dec 2021 – Two years after its creation at the first-ever Global Refugee Forum (GRF), the #sport for Refugees Coalition gave an update on its activities at the High-Level Officials Meeting, an event co-hosted by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Switzerland - which took place virtually on 14 and 15 December.

Attended by senior government officials and representatives of relevant stakeholder groups, the meeting reviewed the progress made since the last GRF, with the aim of maintaining the momentum towards achieving the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018.

The #sport for Refugees Coalition is co-led by the Olympic Refuge Foundation, UNHCR and the SCORT Foundation, and consists of more than 80 partners from governments to National Olympic Committees, International Sports Federations, clubs, associations and civil society organisations. All the entities came together in 2019, pledging to use #sport to improve the lives of refugees.

Addressing the High-Level Officials Meeting, #marcandrebuchwalder, CEO of the SCORT Foundation, explained that, despite the many challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased desire and appreciation for all that #sport and physical activity stand for in responding to refugee needs and well-being.

“Innovative approaches to securing access to #sport – whether delivered online or in-person – provided a vital distraction to the daily stresses all around us,” he said. “They further highlighted the role #sport plays in promoting mental health and psycho-social well-being, especially in times of crisis.”

Transforming pledges into concrete and impactful actions

Despite the challenges induced by the pandemic, the Coalition reiterated its commitment to finding innovative ways to deliver on its pledges:

  • To promote and ensure access for all refugees, without distinction of any kind, to safe and inclusive sporting facilities. 
  • To increase availability and access to organised sports and sport-based initiatives for refugee and hosting communities, actively considering age, gender, ability and other diversity needs. 
  • To promote and facilitate equal access to and participation of refugees in sporting events and competitions at all levels.

“Moving forward, the Coalition will seek to harness opportunities to establish cross-sectoral partnerships beyond the traditional sports organisation,” Buchwalder concluded.

“Partnerships that can unlock new resources, promote greater collaboration, help overcome obstacles and enable more refugees to get access to and benefit from #sport. This could be reflected in the form of joint pledges or new pledges at the next GRF in 2023.”

Further information in the press release to download