Citation:
Abstract:
Can sport act as a mediator between cultures? Can sport serve as a tool for social inclusion? Is the social space of sport providing the means for moving from integration to inclusion? Are team sports and physical activity facilitating refugee and migrant integration, to wit providing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers with a form of support in regaining and maintaining their mental health and well-being? This paper argues that the social space of sport offers a platform, a bridge and a stage—for vulnerable social groups—to promote social integration and subsequently inclusion. In sharing personal stories about refugees and displaced communities, athletes have been challenging stereotypes and encouraging their social media followers to adopt more inclusive attitudes. This paper examines grassroots programs and projects involving tens of thousands of participants around the globe from educators, visionaries, volunteers, and diverse stakeholders, who are using sport to promote social inclusion. Moreover, a wide variety of organizations have been using the power of play and games to nurture peacemaking across divided communities; to ensure visibility; to promote intercultural awareness and gender equality; to eliminate racism and violence in schools and communities. Policy makers claim sport contributes to a wide range of ideals such as intercultural understanding, reconciliation, and integration. In Greece, for example, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs includes sport, as a tool to promote social justice, in the current National Action Plan for Gender Equality (NAPGE). Remarkable results have been documented in bridging social inequality gaps through sport.
Keywords: sport agency, athlete activism, visibility, integration, inclusion, gender, refugee, migrant, xenophobia