Ongoing Programs
Well-being of children and youth
For another year Barca Foundation and Organization Earth continue their long-term collaboration regarding the implementation of social inclusion programs for refugee children.
The specific objective of our project is to contribute to the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of refugee children and youth through socio sport based activities, personal development skills workshops and integration with the host community.
The main activities are:
SportNet sessions
SportNet is the specific methodology developed by the Barça Foundation that uses sport to promote values such as teamwork, self-expression, and healthy living among participants, fostering life skills and social integration through physical activity. Professionals from Barça Foundation train 10 coaches and volunteers in the refugee camps, and they will implement the sessions it is expected the participation of around 400 young people.
Personal skill development workshops for participants above 13 years’ old
The workshops provide educational opportunities to offer meaningful stimuli for the participants to explore their talents and interests.
Basic nutrition and community cooking workshops
Participants have the opportunity to cook recipes with local & seasonal ingredients and to comprehend the importance of sustainable production and consumption, to be motivated to adopt a healthier nutritional model.
Green skills and Environmental awareness workshops
The workshops promote the importance of the connection with nature to participants’ physical, emotional and mental health. Through the experiential workshops participants will develop soft skills such as teamwork, organizational skills, creative thinking skills, attention to detail, self-esteem, etc.
Arts and Craft activities for participants under 13years old
Recreational activities such as arts & crafts, dance, wellness, and psychomotor games enable children to socially integrate through communication and interaction with other children, develop an understanding of self and others, and improve their communication ability, self-integrity, identity creation, and self-esteem socialization skills.
Excursions outside of the refugee camps
Participants have the opportunity to visit museums, sports events, Organization Earth’s organic farm, a thematic parks, theatre plays, etc.
Community-based activities and events with the local community
During these activities refugee children have the opportunity to interact with children from local communities providing them opportunities for mutual understanding and respect of diversity, breaking barriers and highlighting the importance of co-existence and fostering a sense of belonging.
During 2023, it is estimated that 400 refugee children from Schisto, Ritsona and Corinthos Refugee Camps will take part in 600 SportNet sessions, 60 thematic workshops and 10 out of the camps leisure activities.
Futbolnet 4 Employability
Organization Earth, in collaboration with Barca Foundation and UEFA Foundation for Children, implements the pilot program Futbolnet4Employability. The program uses the power of sports to enhance participants’ soft skills related to employability. The target group of the program is unaccompanied refugee children from 14 to 17 years old. The program takes place in a municipal field in the center of Athens.
Hope Refugee FC
Organization Earth’s sport for good projects kicked off with Hope Refugee FC. The team was founded in 2016 in Piraeus, by Organization Earth with the support of UEFA Foundation. The football team consists only of refugees and asylum seekers aiming to promote social empowerment and facilitate integration, based on the principles of solidarity and non-violence. Besides sport activity per se, through Hope Refugee FC, Organization Earth offers legal support, personal and professional development as well as working opportunities.
Hope Refugee FC Women
Since 2019, Organization Earth has taken several initiatives towards promoting sport activities for refugee women. Although COVID-19 situation did not allow a number of planned activities to take place during 2020, Organization Earth managed to implement training sessions for refugee women resided in Skaramangas refugee camp.
Sport for Athens
Organization Earth is collaborating with Diogenis NGO and Syrian-Greek Youth Forum for the implementation of Sport for Athens project, under the Curing the Limbo programme of the Municipality of Athens. The project uses sports as a vehicle for promoting a positive social change in the neighbourhoods of the city of Athens by advocating for the social role of sports and by creating collective activities based on the principles of non-violence and diversity acceptance.
