The SPIRIT – Sports for Participation, Inclusion, Respect, Interculturality, and Tolerance project, co-funded by the European Commission’s CERV program, stems from the experience gained within the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities Program and the SCORE project, which helped bring the topic of inclusion in sport to the center of public debate by promoting inclusive practices and initiatives aimed at migrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities, and demonstrating how sport can become a powerful tool for integration and participation.
SPIRIT takes a step forward: strengthening social cohesion in European cities through sport, enhancing it not only as a physical activity but as a space for meeting, dialogue, and building bonds. The initiative supports local governments in improving their skills and collaborating more effectively, creating transnational networks between cities facing similar challenges.
European Commission
Project objectives are:
- To promote European values and shared democratic standards within local sports policies.
- To promote an intercultural approach in the design and implementation of public policies in the sports sector at local level.
- Fostering inclusion through sport at local level.
- To encourage the exchange of experiences and good practices among institutions and practitioners in contexts where sport is used as a tool for social cohesion at local level.
Project activities
Through transnational meetings, training programmes, the establishment of thematic Hubs, and the design of local actions, the participating entities will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue, share experiences, and develop common strategies, working towards the definition of sports policies based on an intercultural, inclusive, and participation-oriented approach.
In this way, SPIRIT contributes to making sport an open, safe, and accessible environment for everyone, capable of fostering well-being, dialogue, and a sense of belonging within local communities.