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Refugees Compete as ‘Hope and Dreams’ Championship is Inaugurated

The inaugural “Hope and Dreams” Taekwondo Championships concluded at the Prince Rashid Bin Al-Hassan Hall in Al-Hussein Youth City, Jordan on March 19, 2022.

It was organized by the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) in cooperation with the Jordanian Taekwondo Federation, with the aim of offering refugee athletes a dedicated competition.

More than 200 athletes participated in the event. They were from the Azraq and Zaatari refugee camps, as well as refugees training in other clubs around Jordan. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics mats were used for the championships.

It contributed to enhancing the humanitarian concept of sport and its role in refining the talents of young people, empowering them in their communities, and investing their energies for the better.

“This was a task assigned by THF Chairman Chungwon Choue,” said WT Council member and THF Board member Maher Magableh. “It represents athletes’ hopes of becoming effective members of their new societies, and their dreams of becoming champions.”

1st THF Hope and Dreams Sports Festival Welcomes Taekwondo and Baseball5

al University Sports Federation, were also in attendance.

The THF, WT and the WBSC are all members of joint UNHCR and International Olympic Committee (IOC) “Sports Coalition” and share a commitment to improving access for all refugees to safe and inclusive sporting facilities. The THF, WT and the WBSC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March 2020 to promote humanitarian, social inclusion, peace and development-supporting activities.

The first-ever Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) Hope and Dreams Sports Festival was held in Jordan on Feb. 25-27, 2023, giving refugees and displaced persons the opportunity to compete in Taekwondo and Baseball5 competitions.

The festival was organized by the THF and World Taekwondo (WT) in collaboration with the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), reflecting the increased collaboration between the three organizations. The THF has hosted Hope and Dreams events in the Azraq and Zaatari refugee camps since 2021, but this marked an expansion to a multi-sport festival.

The festival took place at the Azraq Refugee Camp and in Jordan’s capital Amman, with around 300 young refugee athletes competing, including a refugee team from Afghanistan. On Feb. 25 at the Azraq Refugee Camp, there were Taekwondo and Baseball5 demonstrations as well as an exchange with refugee participants and games.

On Feb. 27 in the Jordanian capital, there was a Hope and Dreams Refugee Taekwondo Championships for Cadet and Junior categories and was followed in the afternoon by Taekwondo Championships for Senior categories and a Baseball5 Championships. Representatives from the Association of Summer Olympic International Federation (ASOIF), the UNHCR or the UN Refugee Agency, and the Internation-

THF Chairman and WT President Chungwon Choue said: “We are delighted to have hosted this Hope and Dreams Sports Festival in partnership with the WBSC. We have always been clear that our commitment to empowering refugees goes beyond Taekwondo and that we want to partner with other sports to expand the opportunities we are providing to those who need it most.

WBSC President Riccardo Fraccarri said “I am proud and enthusiastic to have been able to attend the inaugural Hope and Dreams Sports Festival in Jordan and witness first-hand how Baseball5 can be an excellent tool to promote inclusivity and team building, especially in under privileged communities, as well as seeing how important sport in general is in combating social inequality and promoting peace, well-being and social inclusion.”

ASOIF President Ricci Bitti said: “What a valuable initiative of two international federations teaming up to bring the physical and mental benefits of their sports to refugees and displaced people. It was impressive to see first-hand how much positive energy this Hope and Dreams Sports Festival was able to generate among the young people – young athletes who had to go through so much in their lives already and need to gain hope and confidence for their future.”

Dominik Bartsch, UNHCR representative to Jordan, welcomed the initiative: “Sports in refugee camps and beyond are impressive ways of bringing people together whose lives have been disrupted. The THF developed programs that build respect for others, self-control and redeem a pleasure in life that certainly belongs to youth of all ages.”