Move 4 All is a project initiated by Ballafon, a Social Cooperative in Varese, Italy and it was made possible thanks to the European Commission’s grant “Sport as a Tool for the Integration and Social Inclusion of Refugees”.
Sports must be accessible to everybody, they must be healthy and safe, fair and tolerant. They must be built on high ethical values and be capable of fostering personal self-fulfilment at all levels. Last but not least sports should always be respectful of the environment and protective of human dignity.
Sports are a way to keep fit and create a healthy lifestyle and also a tool to overcome negative trends such as violence, aggression and discrimination.
The objectives of the Move 4 All project are:
- to launch a football tournament and a 5 km mini marathon in Varese, Italy, to which local citizens and migrants will participate to foster social integration;
- to encourage a more harmonious migration and a more inclusive policy by involving third country nationals and local citizens in sport activities together;
- to build new alliances, partnerships, and relations;
- to create new dialogues and exchanges among all stakeholders (young migrants, the host community, the private sector, local NGO’s etc);
- to cultivate awareness and acceptance of the “other” to overcome discriminatory stereotypes and attitudes.
- to change people’s attitudes (particularly young people’s), build self-confidence and strengthen soft skills such as leadership and communication to become more aware of the self.
Ballafon – Social Cooperative
Ballafon is a multicultural social cooperative, made up of members from all over the world, which identifies the ethnic and cultural diversity as a core value to be preserved and as a heritage of the entire society. Ballafon offers multidisciplinary activities to promote cultural exchange between populations and their mutual recognition. Liaising with institutional entities, Ballafon acts as the connecting link between them and the migrants.
Ballafon’s main activities can be summarized as follows:
- Guidance and assistance to third country nationals;
- Intercultural and linguistic mediation;
- Civic education and integration;
- Assistance to people;
- Artistic and socio-cultural performances;
- Sport activities;
- Volunteering activities;
- Vocational training.
Ballafon’s mission is to promote integration through cultural, social and economic development in order to guarantee all individuals a decent life without ethnic, religious and political discrimination.
Ballafon was founded in 2006 as a project of Seydou Konate, who arrived in Italy in 1991 from the Ivory Coast, his country of origin. After experiencing first-hand the difficult and sometimes painful status of the migrant, he decided to capitalize on his expertise to facilitate the regularization path and integration of third country nationals in Italy.
For further information please visit our website www.ballafon.it
