Sport & Play for Inter-ethnic Dialogue among Children and Youth
This project's parent organization is SAD Swiss Academy for Development
It operates in Sri Lanka
It uses Indigenous games
Entered the Sport For Social Inclusion Award
More about Sport & Play for Inter-ethnic Dialogue among Children and Youth
Sri Lankan post-conflict politics leave little room to (re)build relationships and promote social inclusion and dialogue across ethnic, religious and gender boundaries. The school system is divided along ethnic, religious and gender lines, and leaves little space for exchange among children from diverse communities. Girls, especially in the rural areas, are usually not part of decision making processes and nor are the Tamils (minority) in multi-ethnic areas.
The project provides children/youth with life-skills that are not provided in school or at home: emotional stability is promoted by strengthening their self-confidence and resilience while fair-play and respect for the other are developed; children learn to deal with differences and conflicts in a non-violent manner through the use of sport.
Tamil children and female participants are empowered, in a first step to express themselves and in a second step to articulate their needs and wishes and participate in decision making processes within the project activities. The innovativeness of the project lies in its novel approach of using sport & play to address sensitive issues in a playful manner for social inclusion and simultaneously providing a “safe” space for encounter.