The Sport for Protection (S4P) approach leverages sport's unique ability to engage young people, providing a safe environment for displaced children and youth to develop skills, build capacities, and connect with peers and mentors.
Strengthening participants’ life skills enhances their ability to protect themselves and contribute to their own protection. The S4P approach can be implemented through stand-alone interventions or integrated into existing humanitarian sectors, including protection, health (physical and psychological well-being), education and livelihoods. This integration not only improves the well-being of displaced individuals but also enhances the overall effectiveness of other humanitarian initiatives.
In 2018, UNHCR, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Swiss child relief agency Terre des hommes (Tdh) launched the Sport for Protection Toolkit: Programming with Young People in Forced Displacement Settings. The toolkit lays out the first iteration of the sport for protection approach. It provides a framework for sport, development and humanitarian actors that guides the design and implementation of protective and developmental sports initiatives for children and youth affected by displacement. It also outlines the essential components needed to provide a safe, protective and supportive environment, and to achieve specific social outcomes, in particular improved social inclusion, social cohesion and psychosocial well-being.
The evolution and enhancement of the sport for protection approach are ongoing. The UNHCR and the Olympic Refuge Foundation welcome any suggestions for improvement or modification, as well as insights from your experiences in this domain.
We encourage you to share your thoughts with the UNHCR sports team at [email protected], the Olympic Refuge Foundation at [email protected].
