Sports Activities as a Tool for Empowering Social Inclusion

United Nations (as it was published in Journal of Sports and Social Issues, 2011) states that, “By its very nature sport is about participation. It is about inclusion and citizenship. Sport brings individuals and communities together, highlighting commonalities and bridging cultural or ethnic divides”. Sport has the capacity to transform the lives of individuals. It is well acceptable that through sports, people are directly involved in their physical, psychological, emotional, and social well-being and development. There are evidences that show the power of Sports on reforming and changing attitudes and approaches especially when becoming an active part of a specific group, community or society. Individuals who participate in sports have the opportunity to improve their social and communication attitude and skills. The main idea behind this training course is to introduce sports as a tool for social inclusion based on the Education through Sports methodology (ETS). ETS refers to a non-formal educational approach that works with sport and physical activities to develop key competences of individuals and groups for personal development and sustainable social transformation. The aim of this training is to increase the awareness and develop the competences of 27 people working with youngsters at risk of social exclusion on how to use education through sports for: improving their knowledge on inclusive practices, enriching their portfolio using specific tools and methods, adjusting their practice and organizing tailor-made activities according to the target group. Objectives: - To build a broaden understanding of what Social inclusion (inclusive) attitude means - To train participants in acquiring and developing key competences for social inclusion through sports - To introduce and learn how to apply Sports as a Tool for social inclusion (STSI) - To explore different ways to adapt the STSI in every participant’s reality - To stimulate participants’ creativity in developing their own tools and methods based on STSI - To provide opportunities for networking and learning by sharing within the frame of Erasmus+: Youth Programme. Target Group: -Representatives of NGOs, educational institutions, local authorities or public bodies dealing with young people with physical disabilities under the umbrella of social work, education or youth -Minimum age of participants: 20+ years