Multi-stakeholder pledges - GCR Objective 2

Multi-stakeholder Pledge: Sport for Inclusion and Protection

Key outcomes

The Multi-stakeholder pledge: Sport for Inclusion and Protection will contribute to better lives for refugees and the communities that host them through leveraging the full breadth of opportunities that the Sport eco-system and sport and play based programming can provide. This includes using the platform of sport to create a positive narrative, ensuring enabling environments exist that contribute to equal access to sports activities in all their forms, generating new opportunities for learning, skills development and livelihoods and increasing the protection space for refugees and the communities that host them.

The Multi-stakeholder Sport Pledge will Primarily contribute to GCR objective 2, however, given the cross-cutting nature of sport, pledge commitments may also add value to other GCR objectives.

Background

At the Global Refugee Forum in 2019, a Joint Sport Pledge brought together more than 80 entities – from grassroots clubs, associations, civil society organizations, national and international sport federations, and governments – to improve the lives of refugees and other displaced people through sport. The 2019 Joint Sport Pledge mobilized more than 14 million USD in support of over 190,000 refugees and host community members worldwide.

For the second edition of the GRF, the co-convener of the Sport for Refugees Coalition, Scort Foundation, the Olympic Refuge Foundation and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency alongside a multi-stakeholder reference group working on and through sport — developed the revised Multi-stakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection. Together, they are calling on all stakeholders committed to improving the lives of refugees through sport, to join the Sport Pledge which will be announced at the Global Refugee Forum on 13 December 2023.

Pledge description

The Multi-stakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection offers an opportunity for entities that are already or are interested in working with and through sport to come together and pledge concrete commitments to support refugees and host communities.

For many refugees sport is much more than a leisure activity. It provides them with the chance to heal, develop and grow. Sport offers a clear path for refugees to move from despair to hope and has the potential to bring about long-lasting change in refugees’ lives.

The Sport Pledge for Inclusion and Protection states that:

Together, we pledge to mobilize resources, expertise and networks to promote access to, and opportunities through sport for, and with, displaced people and host communities, contributing to more inclusive and cohesive societies.

It explores the role sport can play in the lives of refugees, and identifies five areas where action can be taken through sport to contribute to the protection and inclusion of displaced people and host communities. By pledging, organizations commit to delivering a specific output in one or more of the five commitment areas:

Promote an enabling environment, including policy, that delivers access to safe sport.
Promote and provide inclusive, safe, sport and play-based initiatives.
Promote and provide opportunities for enhanced skills and pathway in and through sport.
Use targets communication, evidence and advocacy.
Strengthen partnerships and coordination efforts.

For examples of possible commitments under each of these areas please see the Guidance Note.

Keeping the agency and leadership of displaced persons at the centre of developing commitments to the Multi-stakeholder Sport Pledge is critical. The meaningful engagement of refugees was a priority throughout the process of developing the 2023 Multi-stakeholder Sport Pledge and remains central as organizations build their commitment and join the pledge.

Sport can improve outcomes across many areas of work, including protection, health, education and solutions. This pledge is therefore engaged and working with other pledge initiatives to identify and explore synergies. The role of sport in enhancing benefits across other thematic areas will be a key focus at the GRF.

To find out more on joining this international effort to support refugees through sport, see the Guidance Note or contact the co-conveners of the Sport for Refugees Coalition at [email protected]

Pledge updates

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Post GRF 2023 follow-up (2024)

The Multistakeholder pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection launched at the Global Refugee Forum 2023 will contribute to better lives for refugees and the communities that host them through leveraging the full breadth of opportunities that the Sport eco-system and sport and play based programming can provide. The pledge states that: Together, we pledge to mobilize resources, expertise and networks to promote access to, and opportunities through sport for, and with, displaced people and host communities, contributing to more inclusive and cohesive societies.

To realize this, the Multistakeholder pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection has set out five commitment areas:

Promote an enabling environment, including policy, that delivers access to safe sport.
Promote and provide inclusive, safe, sport and play-based initiatives.
Promote and provide opportunities for enhanced skills and pathways in and through sport.
Use targeted communication, evidence and advocacy.
Strengthen partnerships and coordination efforts.

Pledging entities are encouraged to outline in their pledge how their interventions will contribute to 1 or more of these commitment areas. More than 140 entities have currently made commitments under the Multistakeholder pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection that will by 2027 see:

50 pledges implemented promoting an enabling environment, including policy, that delivers access to safe sport and ensures equitable opportunity to participate and excel by eliminating barriers, addressing inequalities, and lack of resources.
104 pledges implemented promoting and providing inclusive, safe, sport and play-based initiatives, engaging displaced people and host community members of all ages, sexes, genders, and abilities, where sport contributes to personal growth, protection, inclusion, and cohesion.
67 pledges implemented promoting and providing opportunities for enhanced skills and pathways in and through sport, including training, scholarship, and employment opportunities.
81 pledges implemented using targeted communication, evidence, and advocacy, using the platform of sport, to communicate and advocate for refugee issues and use targeted communications, evidence, and research to highlight the positive role sport can play for displaced people at the individual, community and whole of society level.
98 pledges implemented strengthening partnerships and coordination efforts within and beyond the sport sector to maximize the benefits of sport within and outside of displacement situations.

The Multistakeholder Sport Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection will primarily contribute to Objective 2 of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) in support of enhancing refugee self-reliance. However, given the cross-cutting nature of sport, pledge commitments may also add value to other GCR objectives.

Expected Outputs by 2027

The Multistakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection Sport Pledge aims to deliver the following outputs:

146 Sport Pledges are implemented.
143 entities are engaged in Sport Pledge implementation.
15-member state-sponsored pledges on sport are implemented through the support of sport pledge entities.
Approximately 825,000 direct beneficiaries are reached through Sport Pledge initiatives.
USD $55 million is contributed towards Sport Pledge implementation.

Leadership

The Multistakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection is facilitated by the Olympic Refuge Foundation and the SCORT Foundation with the support of UNHCR.

These organizations also serve as co-conveners of the Sport for Refugees Coalition, which brings together more than 130 entities from the world of sport, civil society, academia, public and private sector to extend access to sport to refugees and host communities around the world.

The Sport for Refugees Coalition provides a platform for the Multistakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection pledging entitiesto connect, share promising practices and network with others working with and through sport in support refugees and host communities. It also acts as a platform to raise the visibility of entities working in this space and highlight initiatives that are contributing to improving lives through the Global Compact on Refugees.

Leadership

The Scort Foundation
The Olympic Refuge Foundation

Supported by UNHCR.

Members*

Airbnb
Canadian Olympic Committee
Government of Colombia
Comitê Paralímpico BrasileirovYouth Sport Uganda (YSU)
DOSB (German Olympic Sports Confederation)
FARE Network
Fundacja dla Wolności
Government of France
GIZ (German agency for international cooperation)
Institute of European Sport Development and Leisure Studies at the German Sport University
Girl Power (Khalida Popolzai)
Government of Zimbabwe
International Judo Federation
International Sport & Culture Association (ISCA)
Liechtenstein Olympic Committee
PLAY International
Santos Futebol Clube
Skateistan
Soccer Without Borders
Special Olympics (Gerald Mballe)
Tambai Zimbabwe
Government of the Republic of Türkiye
Turkish Olympic Committee
UEFA
Ugandan Olympic Committee
UNESCO
World Athletics
World Union of Olympic Cities
YALI Sport Africa
Yusra Mardini Foundation

*as of 23.11.2023

Contact details

[email protected]

Calendar

April - September 2023: Pledge launch at informal GRF in March and co-creation phase of the pledge including development of commitments
September - December 2023: Mobilisation phase for support and matching of pledge