Case study N.1: what to learn and apply from them: challenges, tested solutions, learnings/recommendation

Why 3 case studies? The   HEPA Expert Group acknowledged that developing targeted and tailored HEPA initiatives shall take into account the cultural contexts and everyday circumstances of socially disadvantaged groups and hard-to-reach populations. With the selected sample of good practices selected for this module, the purpose was to showcase how physical activity for socially disadvantaged groups can look like using tangible case studies.

The practices in brief:

• HEPA for socially disadvantaged women: The “Activ’Attitude” initiative by Azur Sport Santé. What started as a pilot program in collaboration with local employment agency in 2020, grew into a 5 months program combining physical activity with various workshops to serve the main goal of the project, i.e. help socially disadvantaged women participants to find a job or professional training and to improve not only their physical, but mental health.

• HEPA for elderly: The “Senior Sport Festival and the Senior Movement Experience initiatives” by the Hungarian Leisure Sport Association. What started as a flagship event to create a “senior playground” with plenty of activities and minimised risk has now turn into a fully-fledged online video training platform “Senior Movement Experience” with special safety instructions provided by 4 professional senior trainers.

• HEPA for young people from ethnically diverse & poor backgrounds: The “Right2Score” initiative. After joining a call from the city of Ghent in 2019, this organisation offered multiple sports and physical activity opportunities to the local disadvantaged young people from ethnically diverse & poor backgrounds in one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods as a way of empowering them.

Why will you be inspired? You will get special access to tips and tricks to remove participation barriers, including practical, social, cultural, psychological, informational and financial ones.

Learn from experts⬇

In this video, Dusan Pjevac, Sport and Health Development Officer at Azur Sport Santé in France, Robert Benyhe, International Project Manager at the Hungarian Leisure Sport Association in Hungary, and Zakayo Wandolo, Co-Founder & Community Manager at Right2Score in Belgium generously provide us with an extensive presentation of the challenges they were facing and the solutions they developed and tested. Enjoy the ride through their approach.

Case study N.2: the Integration of Refugees Through Sport (IRTS) project

The practice in brief: Co-funded by the European Union, the Integration of Refugees Through Sport (IRTS) project and Networking Platform are led by ISCA. The IRTS Networking Platform aims to empower people working or volunteering in integration of refugees through sport roles by offering in-person and online opportunities to meet, learn, gain recognition for their initiatives and connect with high profile humanitarian organisations.

Why will you be inspired? The platform is also a hub of resources for professionals and volunteers working on activities with refugees and other initiatives that focus on social inclusion. While the focus is on grassroots sport, you will find that many of the resources can be used for other community initiatives as well. Note that ISCA’s Integration of Refugees Through Sport resources have been designed with expert input from grassroots sport professionals, humanitarian organisations, coordinators from asylum centres and refugees themselves.

How it is used by  ? As a platform to offer resources and inspiration to people working in this field and to present new perspectives on integration through sport.

Learn from experts⬇

In this video, Physical Education expert Morten Andersson from the Academy of Physical Education, Ollerup, Denmark, shares with us his best advice on how inclusion through sport and physical activity is about playing together. He focuses on how to start working with refugees and what to take into consideration when working with a vulnerable group. By watching this video, you will receive some recommendations on how to support the integration of refugees in your local communities, design physical activities that take into consideration their backgrounds, and how to address challenges you can expect along the way. 

Interested to read more? Visit the IRTS platform

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