This policy brief highlights common municipal opportunities to leverage sport to enhance existing settlement and inclusion processes. It offers practical guidance on how cities can best enable displaced young people and local residents to benefit from engaging with sport, resulting in better outcomes for the whole community. For cities considering hosting a major sporting event (MSE), this brief also examines the intersection of MSEs and displacement, as well as the role of legacy in shaping positive community outcomes.
The Policy Plan is user-friendly. It includes five Key Recommendations, with three levels of engagement for each one, to apply depending on available resources. It also comes with a self-assessment tool to help policymakers and practitioners engage easily with the recommendations.
For those trying to rebuild their lives in a new city, sport is an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends, connect with a city’s public spaces, improve physical and mental health, learn the language or dialect of a new host community, and access employment opportunities.
Sport is also known to be a protective factor against negative coping mechanisms for those who have experienced crisis or adversity.
Displaced young people who join a sports team, ride a bike to school or work, or participate in activities such as running, yoga or hiking, experience benefits that can help determine their future health, livelihood and independence.
Combined, these factors make displaced young people’s participation in sport and physical activity an effective determinant of inclusion in their host communities.
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