Promoting inclusion: strategies to combat discrimination in sport
Hate speech is often intertwined with discriminatory beliefs, fuelling division within societies, and undermining the unifying and inclusive potential of sport.
Acknowledging this reality underlines the urgent need to combat racism, ethnic discrimination, sexism, and social exclusion while fostering mutual respect across all sports, including the online realm and stadiums.
From this perspective, one of the most powerful strategies is to proactively develop and implement educational initiatives.
By nurturing principles of mutual respect and inclusion from an early age, we strengthen the foundations of our communities.
These programmes act as a shield against intolerance and ensure that future generations embrace diversity and champion unity.
#SportIsRespect
Country: Greece
Organisation responsible: Implemented by METAdrasi in cooperation with the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the participation of Municipalities all over Greece.
Main topic addressed: Sport values and social inclusion of refugees children
Type of resource/practice: Education programme
Approach: Prevention
Target group(s): Greek and refugee children aged 7 to 17 years old.
Timing: March 2022 to June 2023
Language: Greek
Brief description of the practice: All children and youngsters will have the opportunity to participate on a regular basis in sports activities, in various types of sports. The programme also includes recreational and cultural activities of an educational nature (visits to museums, archaeological sites, sports facilities etc.)
Context and objectives: Give a chance to asylum seeking children and youngsters to get in touch and learn more about organised sports and develop relationships through sport with their peers from the local communities.
Steps/activities of the practice: “Together in Sport” aims to:
- Cultivate and promote values like mutual respect, team spirit and intercultural tolerance.
- Familiarize the participants with the values of Olympic education.
- Improve the everyday life of asylum seeking children/youngsters and to enhance their sense of belonging.
- Strengthen the existing structures and the initiatives regarding the reception and the care especially of unaccompanied minors at local level.
- Promote new communication channels through sports, in order to enable the peaceful coexistence among children and youngsters coming from different cultural backgrounds.
- Reduce the reservations of local communities towards asylum seekers and improve and strengthen social cohesion.
Achievements and outcomes: 5000 children, Greek and refugee children have already took part in the project.
Recognising the discriminatory motives behind hate speech targeting individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and sex characteristics, the project is also designed with the objective of eradicating homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia, thereby promoting an inclusive environment where hate has no chance.
For more comprehensive information, we invite you to explore the Gaynet and Outsport websites, together with the CoE-EU Joint initiatives, implemented under the auspices of the Anti-Discrimination department. These endeavours are focused on combating anti-LGTBIQ violence and hate speech, while concurrently bolstering efforts to raise awareness and disseminate fact-based narratives regarding LGTBIQ individuals.
