Multistakeholder Pledge: Sport for Inclusion and Protection

Key outcomes

Commitments which form part of this multi-stakeholder pledge will contribute towards mobilising and activating non-traditional stakeholder group concerned with sport; enhancing refugee self-reliance; increasing social inclusion for refugees, through development of capacities, skills, and physical and emotional well-being through sport; sport initiatives promoting social cohesion, social inclusion, achieving protection outcomes; engaging sports organisations in innovative approaches and partnerships for socio-economic inclusion.

Commitments towards the Joint Sport Pledge will be worked out towards the following areas:

  1. Resourcing potential and funding: resources the sport ecosystem can offer for inclusion and protection of displaced persons, opportunities for leveraging resources and resource-related opportunities, innovative funding
  2. Engagement in, with and through sport: possibilities for, and reducing barriers to, support and inclusion of displaced persons in the sport ecosystem
  3. Awareness: increasing recognition of the role sport can play in displacement and how sport can be a better platform for spreading awareness to new audiences
  4. Policy and Coordination: removing barriers to access and inclusion in, with and through sport for and with displaced persons; improved coordination between actors within the sport ecosystem around removing barriers and enabling opportunities

Background

The Joint Sport Pledge for the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) builds on the 2019 GRF Joint Sport Pledge aimed at promoting and ensuring equal access for displaced persons to safe and inclusive sport as a means to improve protection and inclusion. Since 2019, the Sport for Refugees Coalition co-convened by the Scort Foundation, the Olympic Refuge Foundation and UNHCR has worked to promote and support the implementation of and reporting on the 2019 Joint Pledge.

High quality, safe and inclusive sport has been proven to contribute positively to physical and mental health and well-being, education, gender equality and inclusion, for displaced persons and host communities. Sport can also bring personal development and transferable skills, and act as a tool to promote cross-community and inter-generational dialogue and exchange. Sport is particularly important to promote the well-being and engagement of children, youth, women, girls and people at risk of exclusion or marginalization, such as persons with disabilities.

Pledge description

The 2023 Joint Sport Pledge acknowledges that the value and potential of sport, as a contribution to comprehensive responses to displacement, can only be realized through the additional efforts of, and partnerships with, actors across the full spectrum of the sport ecosystem, and importantly, with displaced persons and host communities at the centre of these efforts. It is underpinned by the belief that sport complements and adds value to interventions aimed at improving inclusion and protection with and for displaced persons and their hosting communities.

Challenges and opportunities to realising the potential of sport for protection and inclusion have been identified and revolve around access to safe and inclusive sport facilities and equipment; opportunities to participate in and develop through sport; enabling systems, policies and processes; improved partnerships and coordination; capacity-sharing; evidence, advocacy and communication. Central to all challenges and opportunities are voice, agency and leadership of displaced persons.

Displaced persons are meaningfully engaged throughout the process of developing the 2023 Joint Sport Pledge.

The pledge also aims to identify and explore synergies between sport and Pledge initiatives relating to protection, health, education and solutions.

Leadership

  • The Scort Foundation
  • The Olympic Refuge Foundation

Supported by UNHCR.

Members*

  • Airbnb
  • DOSB (German Olympic Sports Confederation)
  • FARE Network
  • France
  • German Sport University
  • Girl Power (Khalida Popolzai)
  • International Judo Federation
  • International Sport & Culture Association (ISCA)
  • PLAY International
  • Skateistan
  • Special Olympics (Gerald Mballe)
  • Tambai Zimbabwe
  • UEFA
  • Ugandan Olympic Committee
  • UNESCO
  • World Athletics
  • World Union of Olympic Cities

*as of 24.05.2023

Contact details

[email protected]

Calendar

  • April - September 2023: Pledge launch at informal GRF in March and co-creation phase of the pledge including development of commitments
  • September - December 2023: Mobilisation phase for support and matching of pledge 

Related pledges to match

GRF-00703 - Government of Mozambique - Sport (1). Find out more about matching this pledge.

GRF-01051 - Government of Zimbabwe - Sport (2). Find out more about matching this pledge.