“Empowering Youth Volunteers through Sport in the Mediterranean Region”
EYVOL is a transnational and multi-sectoral cooperation initiative, co-funded by the European Union within the Erasmus+ Sport Programme, involving partners from the Olympic Movement, the United Nations, Academia and civil society, working together to develop and implement innovative educational methods to train youth volunteers on how to utilise sport to promote inter-cultural dialogue, peace and socio-economic development.
Philosophy
The positive role sport plays in social inclusion, cohesion and inter-cultural dialogue through the power of its values has been broadly recognized. The combination of sport with young activities and educations is very significant, as youth volunteers can better exploit the educational potential of sport activities practiced in accordance with the educational value of good example, respect of universal and fundamental ethical principles, and social responsibility. This is the philosophy, based also on Olympism as a philosophy of life, which animates EYVOL.
Duration
24 Months (01/01/2019 -31/12/2020)
Partnership
This project is a collaboration between 12 partners.
- International Olympic Truce Centre (IOTC) – Project Leader
- International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS)
- Comite Olimpico de Portugal (COP)
- Youthorama
- International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE)
- Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (CONI)
- European Platmform for Sport and Innovation (EPSI)
- ENGSO Youth
- University of the Balearic Islands (UIB)
- Seville Football Club Foundation
- Universite Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne
- GaragErasmus Foundation
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the Association of IOC Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF) are official supporters of this initiative, which also envisages the participation of Roma Cares Foundation and Al Sharq Forum.
Main Purpose
To provide young multipliers (young leaders and civil society activists) and young people specialized in sport with concrete action-oriented training tools to be used in youth empowering and capacity building activities based on sport volunteering for social inclusion, with special regard to refugee community focused on the Mediterranean Region.
Specific Objectives
- Promote increased civic participation of young people by developing the concept of sport volunteering for social inclusion through the attractiveness of sport activities.
- Internationally collect and disseminate good practices of the use by youth and civil society organizations of sport as a tool for social transformation with a focus on inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue, equality and peace, peace and conflict resolution.
- Promote sport volunteerism as a way to develop skills of youth also in view of future employment opportunities in the sport field, including but not limited to the organization of major sporting events.
- Deliver training action plans to empower initiatives on social development through sport with a customized approach in the Mediterranean Region, based on innovative educational tools for the following target audiences:
- Young leaders and civil society activists: This target group is not often familiar with sport, therefore the main aim of the educational set, is to train them on the use of sport activities to help them to achieve their objectives in fields such as the prevention of radicalization, dispute resolutions and the social inclusion of vulnerable population.
- Young sport volunteers: The aim of this educational tool is to provide skills for young sport specialized people (athletes, coaches, educators, referees, managers etc.) implement social inclusion volunteering activities based on sport to transfer this knowledge into the sport organizations and other stakeholders, notably grassroots sport event organizers.
- Develop policy recommendations aimed to improve Mediterranean Region “Sport for social inclusion” programmes by increasing sports volunteering practices among young people to reduce risks of social exclusion.
Deliverables
- Guide on the Best Practices on Volunteering for Social Inclusion through Sport
- European Educational Programme for Volunteering Services
- Self-assessment Skills App
- Policy recommendations Report on Refugee Inclusion through Sport and Volunteering
The first group of internationally recruited EYVOL volunteers have been deployed in Doha at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships, while the first outcome of the analysis of “Best Practices on Volunteering for Social Inclusion Through Sport” were presented on 26 November 2019, at the First “International Conference on Sport Volunteerism” hosted by the Sorbonne University in Paris.
For further information, please visit EYVOL website.
