Timespan:
1 August 2013 to 31 March

Project at a glance
The aim of the project TOYS is to tackle racism and discrimination among youth in sport by promoting social inclusion and integration, volunteering and active citizenship. The topic is particularly relevant due to the recent prevalence of high profile cases of racism and discrimination in the sporting world.

To tackle this issue that is evidently also manifested at the local level, a 5-day seminar encompassing numerous activities, debates, discussions and workshops, as well as indoor and outdoor sport activities, will explore the possibility of using sport in youth activities as a tool to challenge racism and discrimination.

The seminar will promote values such as volunteering, mutual understanding and cultural diversity among youth; core principles of European citizenship. By promoting these activities and values, TOYS hopes to contribute to the fight against discrimination and racism.

Objectives
TOYS envisages to achieve the following objectives:

• To promote anti-discrimination and tolerance through sports
• To highlight the strong relation between sport, healthy habits and active citizenship in a wide sense
• To foster the European Year of Citizens, using sports as a way for civic engagement
• To promote the social and personal development of the participants by using not only the critical thinking approach but also participants bodies through sport activities
• To promote fundamental European values, such as democracy, solidarity, tolerance and respect for human rights
• To strengthen the bonds between youth organisations with similar objectives in order to development a network of grass-roots sports institutions across Europe united in their stand against discrimination.

Main activity
The project envisages one main activity: the 5-days Seminar in Mesagne,  Italy.

The seminar is conceived as a platform for discussion and exchange of good practice, based on theoretical and practical inputs on social inclusion, volunteering and active citizenship related to sport.
TOYS will bring together 46 participants from 9 countries such as Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Georgia, Italy, Kosovo and Moldova, taking part in this 8 months project.

The activities foreseen are:

1) Preparation phase

• a) Promotion of the project by all partners at local and European level
• b) Selection of suitable facilitators and speakers by all the partners
• ICT tools will be used by facilitators/speakers to get in contact and define the detailed programme and methods of the Seminar; interested young people will also be invited to take part in the "on-line" preparation phase to give their contribution of ideas;
• c) Recruitment of participants
• d) Definition of accommodation, board, travel details, emergency and communication strategy issues

2) Implementation phase
Workshops, discussions, working groups, indoor and outdoor sport activities; public debates, role plays, intercultural activities, visits to institutions/organisations dealing with the topics of the project.

3) Evaluation and follow-up phase
All participants, together with the professional staff of all partners and facilitators and/or speakers, will define strengths, weaknesses, best practices and appropriate methods.

Partners
Lead partner

• Association of Local Democracy Agencies – ALDA, France

Other partners

• Euro Mediterranean Scientific and Biomedical Institute (ISBEM), Italy
• ICEC (“Intelligent Citizen” Enlightenment Center Public Union”), Ganja, Azerbaijan
• Local Democracy Agency of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• IPCP (International Platform for Citizen Participation), Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• UBBSLA (The Union of the Bulgarian Black Sea Local Authorities), Varna, Bulgaria
• Vejle Kommune, Denmark
• LDA Georgia Local Democracy Agency Georgia, Kutaisi, Georgia
• Provincia di Gorizia, Italy
• ASD Mesagne Volley, Mesagne (BR), Italy
• ULE (Università delle LiberEtà del Fvg), Udine, Italy
• Local Democracy Agency Kosovo, Peja/Pec, Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244/99
• Terra – 1530, Vorniceni, Moldova

For more information, please contact:
Aldo Xhani,
Project Manager – Strasbourg office
E-mail: aldo.xhani@aldaintranet.org
Tel: +33 (0)3 90 21 45 93