In the final phase of the project Inclusive Sport for Young Sahrawi Refugees our partner, the Sahrawi Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, successfully organized a series of sports events across all five refugee camps, bringing together children, youth, coaches, and community members celebrating participation, teamwork, and inclusion.

Building on previous activities, a multiplier training in 2025 and local trainings earlier this year, each camp hosted its own sport event that showcased the activities developed through the project’s training sessions and regular practice throughout the year. Over 350 young participants took part in football and volleyball games, inclusive motor games, and cooperative team activities designed to ensure that girls, boys, and young people with disabilities could participate together.

In each camp, sport facilitators, educators and youth coaches played a central role in designing and organizing events that promoted inclusivity, delivering safe, and enjoyable activities for everyone involved. Mixed teams and adapted sports activities allowed participants of different abilities to compete and cooperate together, reflecting the project’s goal of making sport accessible to all young people in the refugee camps. Read more about the pedagogy and on example games in the training manual developed during the project.

Beyond the games themselves, the events created an important space for social interaction, confidence building, and community engagement. Many participants expressed their joy and appreciation for the opportunity to take part in organized sport.

The successful completion of the May 2026 sport events marks an important and final milestone for the project. It demonstrates the growing capacity of local coaches to organize inclusive sports activities and highlights the positive role that sport can play in strengthening community ties and supporting the well-being of young Sahrawi refugees.

The project partners look forward to planning new activities and further expanding inclusive sport opportunities in the camps beyond this project’s completion at the end of the month.

In meetings both with the Minister of Education and Vocational Training as well as on directorate level, support to continue this partnership remains very high. The visit to the camps by SPIN personnel in May 2026 was concluded by an in-depth exchange and evaluation with our partners, emphasizing not only the willingness to extend the program, but to reflect on it and improve where necessary, so that more children and youth can benefit from these activities over a longer period of time.