Peace and Protection Through Sports Project is being implemented in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Türkiye Representation and our Ministry, with funding provided by the Barça Foundation. Coordinated by the General Directorate of International Organizations and Foreign Relations, implementing unit of the project is Manisa Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports.

With our project, we aim to reach young people and children under temporary protection and from the host communities by facilitating grassroots sports education and training through local capacities of our Ministry in Manisa and İzmir and to develop personal capacities of beneficiaries, both refugees and youth from local communities.

Our project’s target audience consists of 1,000 children and young people aged 8 -16 who are under temporary protection, including individuals residing in Manisa who are international protection applicants or status holders, as well as beneficiaries of temporary protection from host communities. Through our project, we aim to establish a bridge between young people under temporary protection and those living in host communities, in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and our Ministry which is a key state institution responsible for organizing capacity-building activities for youth and sports in our country. To achieve this, we will organize sports training and tournaments in selected disciplines such as football, basketball, volleyball and handball, while also providing awareness training to young people in areas like community-based protection, personal development, and conflict resolution. Within the scope of our project, UNHCR will provide training to our Ministry staff and young beneficiaries on topics such as sports, child protection policy, confidentiality policy, ethics, and the “Sporting Toolkit for Protection.” Our project also aims to raise awareness and focus on strengthening social cohesion within the framework of community-based protection efforts.