The last in this series of Integration of Refugees Through Sport Network webinars took place on 10 November under the name “Work together for a bigger impact!”. This time, we invited Lucy Mills and Laura Sentis from Barca Foundation (Spain) who shared with us their experiences of establishing partnerships with different stakeholders in different countries. 

The webinar started with Lucy Mills presenting the Barca Foundation – the official foundation of FC Barcelona – which started as commitment to the municipality of Catalonia and has globalised in the 25 years of its existence. In its activities, the foundation uses sports, play and physical activity to promote a more inclusive society, working with the most vulnerable and marginalised children and youth. They engage into diverse alliances and collaborations with NGOs, CBOs and grassroots implementing partners as well as with big players like UNICEF, IOC and UNHCR. 

In her presentation Lucy shared information about the key elements of their programmes and how they put the sustainability framework into practice, and she spoke about foundation’s programmes for refugees and migrants in different countries (Italy, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Lebanon, as well as Catalonia). 

Laura Sentis then presented the programme developed by the foundation for unaccompanied young migrants in Catalonia. Working with this group with specific needs, the foundation had to adapt the programme and focus on assisting the youth with their transition into adulthood: namely, to provide them with information, tools and networks to help enter the labour market. 

In order to have a bigger impact, the foundation partners in this project with government, social entities, but also with the representatives of the private sector – recently they collaborated with a chain of hotels – thus helping the migrant youth develop different employability skills. In this project, the foundation also finds it crucial to cooperate with the education entities who can offer scholarships for the youth. A committee for the media coverage consisting of lawyers and journalists has also been created to oppose the usually negative narrative on the topic in the media.

The webinar continued in breakout rooms where the participants discussed their experiences and challenges when establishing partnerships to work on refugee- and migrant-related projects.

We thank everyone who participated in our webinars and connected with other people working in the field of sport and inclusion, and we hope to see you again soon! Keep an eye on https://irts.isca.org/ and sign up to our newsletter for more information.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the webinars or IRTS online learning, feel free to contact Monika Resetar.