Barça Foundation promotes integration and emotional well-being of more than 24,000 young refugees
On the occasion of International Refugee Day next Sunday 20 June, the Barça Foundation has launched an awareness-raising campaign on the problem of refugees with the slogan “Everyone with the refugees”. The FC Barcelona women's team will wear a shirt bearing this message before the start of the league match against Real Sociedad.
Meanwhile, from today and via the Barça Foundation's Instagram account, anyone can be added to the campaign by using a filter that has been created specifically for the event. Many of the children benefiting from the Barça Foundation's Refugees and Migrants program at the refugee camps and settlements in Greece and Lebanon will be taking part.
The first to record a video with these filters were the players Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Serginho Dest and Aitana Bonmatí in order to encourage everyone else to join in with the idea.
Refugee and Migrant Program
More than 24,000 children have taken part in the programs that the Barça Foundation launched three years ago at the refugee camps in Greece, Lebanon and Italy. In addition, 500 unaccompanied minors have participated in the activities promoted by the club at schools and centres for unaccompanied minors in Catalonia.
The aim of these programs is to improve the emotional well-being of refugee children, and to encourage integration with peers of other nationalities and ethnicities or from the local community. These programs reduce aggressive behaviours and improve interpersonal relationships, as concluded by the program evaluation report conducted late last year.
The program to support refugee children through sport is run in different contexts: refugee camps (Skaramagas, Eleonas, Lesbos and Moria in Greece); school environments in urban areas (Athens); municipalities (9 municipalities in the Bekaa region of Lebanon), and reception centres for unaccompanied minors (Sicily, Calabria and Catalonia).
80 million displaced and refugees
There are currently 79.5 million displaced people and refugees in the world, of whom more than 25 million live as refugees in other countries, according to the latest data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Half of these refugees are children who have had to flee their homes due to conflict, violence and persecution.
In this difficult context, children are especially vulnerable as they suffer from a lack of reception and shelter measures, and serious violations of their rights.
Through the FutbolNet methodology, designed by the Barça Foundation, the aim is to give children the strength and means to prevent and resolve conflicts and promote social inclusion and integration. The sports and leisure environment provides a springboard to normalise the lives of children who are experiencing an exceptional situation. It also supports physical and mental health, helps with trauma mitigation, and promotes integration and social relationships for better emotional well-being.
The Barça Foundation has been implementing this program since June 2017 with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the UEFA Foundation.