The PlayLab approach

The PlayLab by PLAY International is the first collective and international mechanism dedicated to the development of social innovation through sport. It seeks to encourage the emergence of new solutions and strengthen existing solutions to meet social, educational and health challenges through physical activity and sports games. With this in mind, work on the challenge of social inclusion and well-being of refugee and asylee women and men in Europe is currently being carried out.

The PlayLab approach: Diagnostic and co-creation process

Our approach is unique in that it makes use of sports games as a tool to reflect on fundamental societal issues while incentivizing a change in behaviour. Indeed, children must make use of their psycho-social competences (PSC) to resolve the challenges of the game. This approach was based on an initial thematic diagnostic, which served to identify the needs and obstacles to be addressed, and the respective priority PSCs to be developed. Interviews were carried out with professionals in the field with a variety of profiles to ultimately provide the best possibly adapted solution to the target beneficiaries.

The kits developed within the framework of the European Programme for the Social Inclusion of Refugees and Asylum Seekers aim to provide tools for practitioners working with migrant families. The three audiences targeted by these educational kits are children (8-12 years old), unaccompanied minors and families. Particular attention was given to the relationship between mother and child, as refugee and asylum-seeking families are mostly composed in this way.

Although these kits were designed without distinction of gender, they were thought of in an inclusive way by allowing each participant to find their place, according to their own strengths in the sports game. For example, the cooperative game "Objective 60 points" proposes that the children "freely divide themselves by walking into the different marked game areas" by using a collective strategy. This rule allows each person to position themself where they are most likely to best contribute to the team – it is not individuality that allows for general success but rather an inclusionary and cohesive mindset where each person has a role to play regardless of age or gender.

Deployment

After the first phase consisting of the co-creation of the pedagogical contents, the games are disseminated and deployed through training courses given in the Ile-de-France region of France. These are intended for all actors wishing to use this sportive and inclusive tool.

Although most of the individuals receive training work in the field of reception and medico-social services, such as France Terre d'Asile, the flexibility of these kits allows them to be used by structures with multiple functions and objectives. This flexibility can also be seen in the appeal of the kit for families – it was the most widely distributed as the trained actors explained that they wanted to act on rebuilding family ties and, in particular, enable mothers to get away from their daily routine by encouraging leisure time with their child(ren).

Initial feedback and future prospects

While these kits are tools that can be used "off the shelf", they can be adapted to the different contexts and actors who use them. This ease of use is a choice in design allows the kits to be used by a wider range of individuals and for them to see the benefits in the short or long term. PLAY's collective and international approach allows the kits to continue to evolve and improve.

By choosing PLAY International as one of six partners (Kabubu, Futbol Mas, Ovale Citoyen, Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, Emmaüs Solidarité), ORF (Olympic Refuge Foundation) is enhancing the work already done by the PLAY Lab by designing a unique three-year programme to provide training and support for these kits.

The aim is to continue this project on a European scale, by comparing and adapting the kits to the different realities within the European continent, and thus to enable these educational and sporting contents to continue to improve in depth. From June 2022 onwards, training courses will be put in place and will continue for the following three years, with the main goal being to provide new solutions by getting as close as possible to the reality of refugees and asylum seekers in their host countries. A PLAY stand will be set up on 18 December during International Migrants Day in Paris to present our past and future actions.

The first feedback on this work initiated by the PlayLab and developed by PLAY International's Mission France shows the two assets of this work – a permanent flexibility and adaptability, as well as an emphasis on collaborative work through co-construction and new partnerships.

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Alexanne Bardet is currently in charge of Social Innovation at the Play Lab, and mainly work on the European programme for the social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers through sports games. The approach taken is as much about solidarity and humanity as it is about sustainability and concrete actions on the ground. Germain Peyraud is responsible for coordinating the educational activities of PLAY International’s mission in France, and will be in charge of the articulation of the training courses provided within the consortium in a project funded by the ORF. The project is generating a lot of enthusiasm among the team of trainers at PLAY!

^{sportanddev published this content as part of our partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. For more information on using sport in work with refugees please visit the UNHCR website.}