Peace and Protection Through Sports Project is being implemented in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Türkiye Representation our Ministry, and the Barça Foundation. The project is coordinated by the General Directorate of International Organizations and Foreign Relations.

The project aims to strengthen social cohesion through sports among children and young people under temporary protection and those from host communities, support their protection, and promote their personal development. Through our Ministry’s local capacity, sports training sessions and tournaments are organized in football, basketball, volleyball, and handball. Awareness-raising training is also provided in the areas of community-based protection, personal development, and conflict resolution.

As part of the project, UNHCR provides Ministry personnel and beneficiaries with training on the “child protection policy, confidentially policy, ethical principles, and the “Sporting Toolkit for Protection”. In line with the community-based protection approach, the project aims to strengthen social cohesion.

The first phase of the project was successfully implemented in Manisa.

During the second phase, the geographical scope of the project was expanded to include additional districts of Manisa, as well as the provinces of İzmir and Denizli. Thus, the project was expanded to a regional scale, allowing activities aimed at strengthening social cohesion through sports, supporting protection mechanisms, and promoting personal development of children and young people to continue across a wider implementation area.