Multi-stakeholder pledges - GCR Objective 2

Multistakeholder Pledge: Sport for Inclusion and Protection

Key outcomes

The Multistakeholder pledge: Sport for Inclusion and Protection will contribute to better lives for refugees and the communities that host them through leveraging the full breadth of opportunities that the Sport eco-system and sport and play based programming can provide. This includes using the platform of sport to create a positive narrative, ensuring enabling environments exist that contribute to equal access to sports activities in all their forms, generating new opportunities for learning, skills development and livelihoods and increasing the protection space for refugees and the communities that host them.

The Multistakeholder Sport Pledge will Primarily contribute to GCR objective 2, however, given the cross-cutting nature of sport, pledge commitments may also add value to other GCR objectives.

Background

At the Global Refugee Forum in 2019, a Joint Sport Pledge brought together more than 80 entities – from grassroots clubs, associations, civil society organizations, national and international sport federations, and governments – to improve the lives of refugees and other displaced people through sport. The 2019 Joint Sport Pledge mobilized more than 14 million USD in support of over 190,000 refugees and host community members worldwide.

For the second edition of the GRF, the co-convener of the Sport for Refugees Coalition, Scort Foundation, the Olympic Refuge Foundation and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency alongside a multistakeholder reference group working on and through sport — developed the revised Multistakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection. Together, they are calling on all stakeholders committed to improving the lives of refugees through sport, to join the Sport Pledge which will be announced at the Global Refugee Forum on 13 December 2023.

Pledge description

The Multistakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection offers an opportunity for entities that are already or are interested in working with and through sport to come together and pledge concrete commitments to support refugees and host communities.

For many refugees sport is much more than a leisure activity. It provides them with the chance to heal, develop and grow. Sport offers a clear path for refugees to move from despair to hope and has the potential to bring about long-lasting change in refugees’ lives.

The Sport Pledge for Inclusion and Protection states that:

Together, we pledge to mobilize resources, expertise and networks to promote access to, and opportunities through sport for, and with, displaced people and host communities, contributing to more inclusive and cohesive societies.

It explores the role sport can play in the lives of refugees, and identifies five areas where action can be taken through sport to contribute to the protection and inclusion of displaced people and host communities. By pledging, organizations commit to delivering a specific output in one or more of the five commitment areas:

Promote an enabling environment, including policy, that delivers access to safe sport.
Promote and provide inclusive, safe, sport and play-based initiatives.
Promote and provide opportunities for enhanced skills and pathway in and through sport.
Use targets communication, evidence and advocacy.
Strengthen partnerships and coordination efforts.

For examples of possible commitments under each of these areas please see the Guidance Note.

Keeping the agency and leadership of displaced persons at the centre of developing commitments to the Multistakeholder Sport Pledge is critical. The meaningful engagement of refugees was a priority throughout the process of developing the 2023 Multistakeholder Sport Pledge and remains central as organizations build their commitment and join the pledge.

Sport can improve outcomes across many areas of work, including protection, health, education and solutions. This pledge is therefore engaged and working with other pledge initiatives to identify and explore synergies. The role of sport in enhancing benefits across other thematic areas will be a key focus at the GRF.

To find out more on joining this international effort to support refugees through sport, see the Guidance Note or contact the co-conveners of the Sport for Refugees Coalition at [email protected]

Leadership

The Scort Foundation
The Olympic Refuge Foundation

Supported by UNHCR.

Members*

Airbnb
Canadian Olympic Committee
Government of Colombia
Comitê Paralímpico BrasileirovYouth Sport Uganda (YSU)
DOSB (German Olympic Sports Confederation)
FARE Network
Fundacja dla Wolności
Government of France
GIZ (German agency for international cooperation)
Institute of European Sport Development and Leisure Studies at the German Sport University
Girl Power (Khalida Popolzai)
Government of Zimbabwe
International Judo Federation
International Sport & Culture Association (ISCA)
Liechtenstein Olympic Committee
PLAY International
Santos Futebol Clube
Skateistan
Soccer Without Borders
Special Olympics (Gerald Mballe)
Tambai Zimbabwe
Government of the Republic of Türkiye
Turkish Olympic Committee
UEFA
Ugandan Olympic Committee
UNESCO
World Athletics
World Union of Olympic Cities
YALI Sport Africa
Yusra Mardini Foundation

*as of 23.11.2023

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