SONET

SONET- Solidarity network for young migrants and refugees: a project towards integration through sport.

Aim: The purpose of this project was to identify the reasons preventing the migrants and refugees’ from participating in sports and develop appropriate platforms and networks to facilitate access to it
Responsible for the University of Thessaly: Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis Professor, Theodorakis Yiannis Professor, Filippou Nadia, Lab teaching staff
Information: http://www.sonetproject.eu/
Funding: Erasmus + program of the European Union

“So.Net. – Solidarity Network for sport and young migrants” is a project approved inside the Erasmus+ – Sport program and it is co-financed by European Commission. The project addresses the objective above and the European policy on Sport and migrants because it wants to highlight the values inside sport, create communities of people working together for integration and inclusion of migrant minors, fighting against xenophobia and racism, give the possibility to small sports organizations to share and promote their initiatives, good practices and ask for suggestions thanks to the network.

INTRO

The need for research and development of strategies that can help smoothing the acculturation process is high.
Sport participation has long been considered an effective socializing agent, as it is among the few social activities that are globally recognized as a vehicle for bringing people, and in particular youth, together
For sport to become an effective acculturation agent, migrants and refugees must become part of it. The evidence suggests that, across Europe, their participation in sport is very limited.
The purpose of this initiative was to identify how to facilitate the access of migrants/refugees to sport clubs.

METHODS

A survey was conducted in three countries, Italy, Slovenia, and Greece.
Participants were 324 migrants and refugees between 6 to 18 years old. Among them 74% were from Asia and 26% from Africa.

RESULTS

78,5% did not participate in sport, while 90,2% of them would like to.
Top sports in their preferences were football, swimming, karate, basketball.
The reasons for not participating in sports were by large the lack of financial resources (44,81) and the lack of awareness about where they should seek sport participation (28,30).
71% would participate in mixed gender teams.
41.3% reported their guardian could not pay any fee for participating in sport club.

CONCLUSION

Migrants and refugees would like to participate in sport
They mostly need financial facilitation and some mediation to initiate contact and access to sport clubs.
Initiatives are required to facilitate the efficient placement of migrants/refugees into the available network sport clubs

ACTION TAKEN

Development of sport clubs network in the 3 countries.
Provision of over 150 positions free of club-fee for young migrants/refugees to participate in sport.

ACTION REQUIRED / TO FOLLOW

Extend youth sport clubs network within countries but also across Europe.
Train youth sport coaches to introducing migrants/refugees into teams and developing skills and actions to exploit sport participation towards the goals of integration.

Our website will promote the network in order to make visible and accessible the sport organization members to migrant minors and their families.