In the project WELLcome – Wellbeing and integration through sports, innovative and effective models are developed in the sports sector, to integrate and engage refugees in society with the help of sports. Within the project, Finlands Svenska Idrott (FSI) and Humak University of Applied Science (Humak), together with sports associations and reception centers in Finland, develop sports opportunities for children and young people with an immigrant – and refugee background.
WELLcome model
Welcome to our toolkit for sports clubs
Blog articles
Experiences in sports clubs play a significant role in fostering young people’s integration and self-esteem– ”Let’s be better: Welcoming all in sports”
Integrate through sports in the finnish society?
An inspiring podcast episode will be published next week!
WELLcome At MetroSport
The Exercise Day of Your Dreams
Increasing Social Sustainability in Sports
In media
Fotbollen förenar Aziz från Irak och Ayoub från Somalia (Åbo Underrättelser 16.12.2022)
Liten skara från Pansio flyktingförläggning trotsade regnet och tog sig till fotbollsplanen – finlandssvensk organisation hoppas kunna främja integration genom idrott (Svenska Yle, 02.06.2022)
Flyktingar ska välkomnas med hjälp av idrott – ÅIFK:s verksamhetsledare: ”Idrotten ger en positiv upplevelse utan ord” (Svenska Yle, 16.03.2022)
Upcoming events
3.12.2024 Let’s be better in welcoming all
The general objectives of this project
- To support young refugees (age 7-16) to take part and engage in the local sport clubs in Finland and to thereby support their integration into the Finnish society.
- Create new and impactful business models for the integration of refugees and immigrants in Finland with the help of sports
- To raise awareness and knowhow in social including and integration of refugees amongst board members, staff members and trainers in sport clubs in Finland.
- To spread the model and best practices developed in the project to all the member sport clubs of FSI and to the general public and important stakeholders in Finland and in Europe.
ÅIFK, which is a bilingual sportsclub in Turku with over 600 athletes in its activities in football, handball and athletics, functions as a pilot sports association in the project.
The project’s operating models are distributed nationally in Finland to all sports associations that belong to Finlands Svenska Idrott and, according to good practice, they are also distributed internationally. The two-year project runs during the years 2022-2024.
The project is funded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EECEA) with the Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions (PPPAs) program and the Ministry of Education and Culture (UKM). The total approved sum for the project is 285,000 euros.
Projectteam
Tarja Krum
Projektledare
Finlands Svenska Idrott
tarja.krum(a)idrott.fi
Iida Laitila
Projektkoordinator
Finlands Svenska Idrott
iida.laitila(a)idrott.fi
Janina Sjöstrand
Projektledare
Humak
janina.sjostrand(a)humak.fi
Anna-Maija Riutta
Expert
Humak
anna.maija.riutta(a)humak.fi
