Sport can play a particularly important and healing role for refugees, helping to address health as well as social and developmental needs. For this reason and with the ambition to ensure sports are integrated into refugee camps, this week Peace and Sport and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed an agreement of cooperation.

As part of the cooperation, Peace and Sport and UNHCR will join forces to develop sporting activities to promote a live together philosophy, dialogue and youth integration in urban and camp settings and locations where the internally displaced are located.

Following the signature of the agreement with the Director of External Relations of UNHCR, Rosella Pagliuchi-Lor, Mr. Joel Bouzou, Peace and Sport President and Founder affirmed: “In a world with more than 65 million people displaced by war and persecution, today more than ever, it is necessary to ensure that sport-based programs contribute towards addressing the protection challenges that refugees face in the camp and in communities”.

Both organizations aim to include athletes, and international and national sporting federations in the development of the partnership in order to enhance the skills and knowledge among NGO’s using sport as a tool to improve the lives of refugee and displaced living in refugee camps.