Greece / Athens
Key-stakeholders involved:
- Athens Comics Library
- AEK FC
Brief description
Implementation of the practice
Impact
Lessons learnt/recommendation
Contact details
Athens Comics Library works in partnership with AEK FC on the European programme Welcome Through Football, which came together in 2019 in various countries in partnership with popular football clubs. This programme aims to recognise the value of sports, and football in particular, in social cohesion, skills development and nurturing professional opportunities for the participants. With a strong refugee background, and a human-centred approach to training, AEK FC became a hub for young refugees, migrants and asylum seeking youth aged 7-11 who wanted to pursue their football dream, make friends and create a strong community. The programme has taken place over three years and has three stages which are relevant to different age groups, with a common methodology and approach in order to offer to all participants an interesting and creative experience, which can have a positive long term impact in their lives. Our aim was to enhance physical and mental wellbeing, overcome trauma and reconnect family bonds to support refugee and migrant families rebuilding their lives, communities and a strong network with the locality.
AEK FC teamed up with Athens Comics Library (ACL) for the implementation of the project, an organisation working in the field of community engagement- empowerment and project management. ACL team is trained in trauma sensitive and identity informed design and implementation of educational programs for and with refugee communities. ACL was assigned to recruit the participants and also co-curate the educational program of the project in collaboration with the coaches. For the recruitment, we reached out to our broader network consisting of bigger and smaller NGOs working in the humanitarian field attracting totally 90 children aged from 7-11 years old within the 3 years of the implementation of the project. The children came from various countries (Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, Africa, Ukraine, Iraq etc) and from various backgrounds in terms of family and residence. We welcomed both unaccompanied minors living in shelters of even camps and children living with their families in apartments within the city.
The preparation of the sessions was a co-creative work between ACL and AEK FC staff involved in the project. All our sessions and activities, both inside and outside the pitch field, had a structured methodology and a certain goal setting. We tried to include a variety of thematics within our sessions, ranging from storytelling techniques, to healthy diet tips, music, therapeutic arts, movement workshops, football tournaments with other teams etc. With good coordination and collaboration between AEK FC staff and the ACL team we managed to have a well organised program. All the members of the implementation team had regular communication (online and physical meetings) in order to design and then implement all parts of the project, from organising the transfer of the children, booking the training pitches and delivering the educational sessions or debriefing and discussing challenges and solutions.
The innovative aspects that added value to the project were definitely:
- the day trips to the other cities and the interaction with the local communities fostering inclusion, integration and mutual understanding
- the involvement of the parents during the sessions (during Phase IIΙ we enrolled to the program children from Ukraine and although we don’t have an official translator for them, one of the parents who speaks Russian, volunteered to do it so), encouraging a peer to peer collaboration and interaction and a sense of a stronger community
- the encouragement of the children to bring forward their talents and share them with the rest of the group, cultivating self confidence and positive leadership
- the meet ups with professional players, journalists and other experts, who might serve as role models to the participants
The impact of the project to our target group is already obvious:
- physical and mental well being of the participants
- strong friendships
- a set of soft skills developed (self confidence, respect, discipline, collaboration, anger management, failure management etc)
- sense of belonging and purpose
- community building
- football techniques
- opportunities for further trainings and employability
- integration and inclusion
- language skills
- quality time spent with their parents, which some cases it is hard to happen due to time restrictions
- mental health improvement
OBJECTIVES met:
- Offer to all participants an interesting and creative experience, which can have a positive long term impact in their lives
- Equip participants with skills and knowledge to help them develop mentally and professionally
- Build on their confidence, self respect, mental health and nurture a belonging feeling
- Act as an accelerator for matters of discrimination, equality, equity, and social acceptance
- Develop language skills by child led play
- Holistic development of the child
The project had several challenges ranging from COVID restrictions to the constant change of group members due to relocations.
Our key lessons learned and recommendations could be summarised as such:
- frequent communication via WhatsApp group has been very helpful to keep the team together especially the times we were not able to meet due to covid
- facilitator / interpreter’s role is very important for the success of the programme
- activities on Saturdays and Sundays are a great opportunity for the whole family to attend, children have more energy and the parents/carers can come watch and feel happy and proud about their children
- importance of other activities around football practise
- transport is very important and should be organised in more detail around families needs (various pickups, drop offs)
- the role of coaches and facilitators is super important (select your team carefully)
- give some time to the team for bonding. It is quite amazing to see how they evolve from the first session (from a group of ppl who have never seen each other before, to a proper team)
- use of positive language and encouragement help kids to adapt better in the program. Discuss after the session what worked well and what didn’t in terms of communication, team work etc.
- give the parents/caregivers an active role during the sessions to build a sense of community
- as several kids had to leave the program (due to relocation) , sometimes it was hard to say goodbye and also to keep the coherence of the team. Allow the team to understand and embrace the fact that someone is leaving by organising a farewell event.
Athens Comics Library
Lida Tsene, PhD
contact@athenscomicslibrary.gr