Taekwondo Accelerates Refugee Inclusion in

France

Taekwondo is serving as a boost for the social inclusion of young refugees or displaced persons in the Île-de-France, the region surrounding the French capital, Paris.

On Jan.12, 2022, the French Minister for Sport Roxana Maracineanu took part in a working group for the “Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) Project” led by the French Federation of Taekwondo and Associated Disciplines (FFTDA) in partnership with the THF.

Alongside a high-level sportswoman at INSEP, the National Insittue for Sport, five refugees, immigrants and former asylum seekers were chosen to lead a project as social workers, sports workers, communication and research officers in the Centres d’Accueil de Demandeurs d’Asile (CADA), which process those seeking assylum in France. The five have been using Taekwondo, sometimes for several years, as a tool for social integration and citizenship.

At INSEP, in the presence of Maracineanu, the THF and the project’s partner organizations - Club Hanok, Jess Van Thuyne Gentilly, the Taekwondo League of Île-de-France and the Francophone Mental Training Association - signed agreements to cover the future work contracts of the five. The originality of the program is its focus on inclusion through the practice of Taekwondo.

Morever, those supervising the uprooted young people in the CADA are people who have experienced the same situations. As such, they are able to offer realistic advice and prospects for social and professional integration.

After the first initiation, which will help restore confidence and self-esteem, the beneficiaries of the programassylum seekers or refugees in Île-de-France - will begin a 12-session learning cycle.

The cycle will offer opportunities for socialization, including learning the French language. The final stage of the project will involve their inclusion in a partner club. After passing their first grade, they will be able to join the partner structure free of charge. Membership will then be paid for in full within the framework of the project. Their immersion in the club will promote social links with other members, lead them to learn and take on the rules of society, and ensure the continuity of their integration within France.

Under this concept, the THF, in partnership with the FFTDA, joined a consortium of six partners in Sept. 2021, including the NGOs Play International, Kabubu, Futbol Mas, Ovale Citoyen and Emmaüs Solidarité. They were selected in the framework of a call for projects by the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) and the Ministry of Sports, in order to design a unique program to support displaced persons or refugees in the Île-de-France region through sport.

This project is mainly financed by the Ministry of Sports through a 1 million euro grant to the ORF, which was created by the International Olympic Committee.