Peace and Sport, in collaboration with Champion for Peace Aya Medany, a delegation of FITEQ including former swimmer and Hungarian gold medalist Daniel Gyurta, and the coaches in Zaatari, hosted training sessions for young refugees.
In cooperation with Peace and Sport, FITEQ organized a Teqball tournament that allowed children to practice Teqball in an open and supportive environment where every kid was cheering for the rest of players. To ensure the activity was inclusive and accessible for everyone, FITEQ distributed sporting gear, including hiyabs, making sure everyone was able to participate.
The sessions were part of the ‘Live Together’ program, a program implemented since 2017 in partnership with UNHCR, Blumont, WAKO, FITEQ, and with the support of the Government of the Principality of Monaco. Within the framework of the ‘Live Together’ program, more than 300 children practice sport activities with 6 coaches every week.
Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, declared:
“Our five-year successful collaboration within the ‘Live Together’ program has demonstrated that sport is a strong tool to reconcile, bring a sense of normality, and support social inclusion programs for refugees. The regular practice of sports, including teqball, has been an essential outlet for young people dealing with the anxiety caused by displacement and life in the close quarters of a camp. Sport has brought hope, strengthened the children’s self-esteem, and increased their confidence with community members. »
Gergely Murányi, Head of CSR and Diplomatic Relations at FITEQ, said:
“Our ongoing work in the Zaatari refugee camp and our cooperation with Peace and Sport is hugely important in ensuring that teqball can make a meaningful contribution to improving the lives of young refugees. It enables us to promote the power of sport in tackling violent extremism in line with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism Sports programme.
“At FITEQ, we believe sport should be accessible for all, which is why we always seek to increase participation and provide opportunities for societies’ most vulnerable”
Aya Medany, Champion for Peace and member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, added:
“The ‘Live Together’ program is strong first-hand evidence of what a powerful tool sport is.
From improving the psychological and physical well-being of the refugees to boosting gender equity by providing opportunities for the female refugees, the program uses different sporting activities to foster resilience and social cohesion among the refugees. I am very proud to have been able to share again the values of sport and my experience as an athlete and Olympian with the beneficiaries of the ‘Live Together’ program.”
As the program is celebrating its 5-year existence, Peace and Sport and all the ‘Live Together’ stakeholders aim to take this program even further by promoting the mobility of the coaches in the Middle East, and fostering social cohesion among refugees and the host society through sport.
About Zaatari refugee camp
2022 marks the 10-year creation of the Zaatari refugee camp. Zaatari refugee camp is located in the north of Jordan next to the city of Mafraq, close to the Syrian border. The refugee camp was opened by UNHCR in 2012 to accommodate Syrians fleeing violence in their country. It gradually turned into a permanent settlement and it has now become one of the largest refugee camps in the Middle East with almost 80,000 residents.
Photo credit: Blumont Jordan.
