Socio-educational intervention for the social inclusion of refugees through sport

On 4 February 2022, the University of Barcelona (UB) is organising a practical training seminar aimed at professionals who work on issues related to asylum, refugees and asylum seekers and at students of social issues, education, pedagogy, psychology and sports.

The aim is to share the UB’s experience in implementing Socio-Sports Meetings for the social inclusion of refugees through physical activity with the staff of organisations. These organisations will then be able to assess the possibility of replicating them and offering them to the refugees with whom they work.

Given that the event is based on the implementation of a real Socio-Sports Meeting, refugees and asylum seekers will be able to experience the benefits of this methodology for their physical and psychological well-being.

Finally, students will enjoy a pragmatic learning experience in the context of service learning, an educational practice that combines learning with community service. This methodology contributes to their training while also turning them into agents of socialisation that favour the inclusion of refugees in society.

The seminar takes place as part of the ‘COMMUNITY’ project, which aims to improve knowledge and mutual understanding between forcibly displaced people and their host community to facilitate coexistence, break down the prejudices surrounding those people and ultimately build a more horizontal society, using physical activity and sport as an engine of social transformation.

The UB is implementing this project through the Faculty of Education in collaboration with Fundació Solidaritat UB and with funding from the European Union. It began in 2021 and is scheduled to end in December 2023.

The Socio-Sports Meetings on which this seminar is based are implemented weekly, every Wednesday from 4 pm to 7 pm at Barcelona. In these Meetings, refugees, volunteers, students and professionals do physical exercise while having a good time and fighting against segregation and xenophobia.

Who?

Professionals who work with refugees and asylum seekers.

Refugees, asylum seekers or people in a similar situation.

Students who want to have a pragmatic learning experience while performing community service.

When?

Friday 4 February 2022, from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm.

Where?

UB Mundet Campus. Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron, 171, Barcelona (metro L3 Mundet).

Beneficiaries

Professionals linked to work with refugees and asylum seekers:

  • Staff from organisations working on refugee and asylum issues.
  • Professionals in work and social assistance, pedagogy and psychology.
  • Physical education teachers and teachers of similar subjects.

Refugees, asylum seekers or people in a similar situation.

Students who want to have a pragmatic learning experience while performing community service.

Aims

  • Experience a Socio-Sports Meeting between refugees and the staff of organisations that work on refugee issues.
  • Learn the keys to the design, management and evaluation of Socio-Sports Meetings with refugees and asylum seekers.
  • Acquire the resources to develop socio-educational interventions using motor-skill games that encourage groups of people to participate and interact.

Methodology

Although the seminar mainly uses a practical methodology based on experiential learning (learning by doing), it also has a reflective part to identify the keys to carrying out the Socio-Sports Meetings.

Programme

Friday 4 February 2022 from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm.

  • 9.30 am – 10 am Reception and presentation of the training seminar.
  • 10 am – 12 noon Practical experimentation session.
  • 12 noon – 2 pm Snack/lunch.
  • 2 pm – 4.30 pm Educational training session with education professionals from refugee centres.

Certification requirements

The training is accredited by the Institute of Professional Development – Institute of Education Sciences (IDP-ICE) of the University of Barcelona. The evaluation is carried out based on the following criteria:

  • Active participation in the activity and reflection processes.
  • Contributions provided in the reflection processes.
Logo IDP-ICE

Press clippings

Registration

Though it is no longer possible to register for this seminar, we invite you to sign up for the Socio-Sports Meetings that we hold every Wednesday from 4 pm to 7 pm in Barcelona. You will receive the same practical training that we offered in this training seminar.