Under the project SONKEI, we started the implementation of activities in collaboration with local sports clubs whose purpose is to raise the awareness of children and youth about violence and discrimination.
The main topic of the project SONKEI is »Combat violence and tackle racism, discrimination, and intolerance in sport«. We are aware that the problem of violence and intolerance in sports is not properly addressed in our communities, so we want to make a difference. In our local environments, violence in sports is practically a taboo subject. We have only a very limited number of reports and research about these problems in our country, but according to the reports from other EU countries and other countries around the world, violence in sports must be also present in our countries. We aim to prevent violence and intolerance in sports through education and the promotion of values of respect, courage, gender equality, inclusion, and non-violence. By doing this we intend to change the mindsets of people and initiate social change that will provide a safer environment for everyone.
Objectives of the project SONKEI are:
– A survey of the existing policies and strategies to tackle violence and intolerance in sports in different countries in the EU and abroad, adaptation of these policies and strategies to our environment, and implementation into grassroots sports organizations in the countries of all partners.
– Development of educational programs for coaches, managers, volunteers, and other sports professionals about the problem of violence and intolerance in sports and implementation of educational programs into grassroots sports organizations.
– Development of practical tools that we can use in sports to educate children and youth about how to resist bullying, violence, intolerance, and discrimination and help them cope with the violence they encounter in everyday life.
– Educate coaches about the procedures in case they recognize violence or if they are trusted by children, youth, and adults about the violence they encounter.
– Promotion of the activities and the results of the project in the local environment of each partner and as many EU territories as possible with the help of Ambassadors of Nonviolence. Ambassadors of Nonviolence will be famous athletes, well known in local communities.
Our activities are based on the pilot implementation of the education program for coaches and other sports professionals through practical training sessions with children in grassroots sports organizations. The tools are universal, so it is possible to use them in different sports. By doing this we want to achieve two main goals: Educate children and youth about the problem of violence in sports and gather feedback about the usefulness and effectiveness of educational tools.
With these activities, we tend to induce children on having a more active life and to have more respect for each other while playing sports.