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Lighthouse for Inclusion

2025-1-PT02-KA152-YOU-0002990092025Mobility of young peopleongoing
Countries: PT|ES|IT|SK|RS|BG · Grant: €35,132
New learning and teaching methods and approachesPhysical and mental health, well-beingInclusion of marginalised young people

Objectives

The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic enshrines in its articles the right to physical culture and sport for all, and assumes sport as an indispensable factor in the formation of the human person and the development of society, referring to the value of sport for young people with disabilities, with regard to sport and recreation as a measure of empowerment and rehabilitation. The concept of Sport for All corresponds to a universal right and standard, which Portugal has signed and recommends, together with the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, UNESCO itself and UNICEF. Under these agreements, sport becomes, due to its universal and mass character, an excellent vehicle and instrument for giving visibility to people with disabilities and contributing to the reconstruction of their being, helping to transform young people with disabilities into people with abilities and potential. After taking part in the European sports project Sport Sense, in which their aim was to build a link between society and the communities of people with visual impairments through sport, the young people from GR Regufe became aware of the lack of awareness among young people and the community around them about adapted and inclusive sports for young people with disabilities and the lack of opportunities to practice them. That's why the young people of GR Regufe, together with the association's youth workers, decided to create the Lighthouse for Inclusion project, with the aim of becoming a lighthouse to guide the young people involved in the project, the institutions and society around them towards greater awareness, preparation and action in sport for young people with disabilities. GR Regufe is a non-profit youth association based on four main axes, which are directly in line with the themes and objectives of the project and the objectives of the Erasmus program and youth exchanges: Culture, Sport, Social Action and Youth. GR Regufe's interest in developing this project, born out of the concerns of its young members, stems from the association's own work and the development of its local projects, in which it has numerous sports teams in various disciplines, with more than 250 athletes who train and compete every week. On a social level, it is currently developing the project “Fazer o bem em Regufe”, a social project to support the Regufe neighborhood, marked by the inclusion of minorities, people in need, single-parent families and people with physical disabilities, etc. Therefore, in the creation of the project, 3 main objectives are defined with which it is hoped to respond to the needs covered by the project: to disseminate information to young people about inclusive and adapted sport; to promote habits that improve the physical and mental health of young people without barriers; to promote access to sport for young people who have fewer opportunities for full and equal participation due to a disability. The project seeks to respond to the perceived needs of young people, in line with the objectives of the Erasmus+ program, supporting the learning and personal development of young people and the practice of sport in Europe, contributing to social cohesion, as a means of promoting European identity and active citizenship, as well as promoting the European dimension of sport. In the project, the specific objectives of the Erasmus+ program are in line with the results of the project in terms of individual mobility for learning purposes, based on international cooperation for inclusion and equity, in which creativity will be a key element in addressing the project's theme of inclusion, diversity and sport. To this end, the project has sought to involve different entities and countries that help approach the project from different perspectives and realities, both at a sporting and inclusive level, enriching cooperation and dialogue, benefiting the debate and amplifying the results. For this reason, the project was conceived with the participation of 6 countries where, according to Eurobarometer, Spain and Slovakia have an average level of sport or physical activity below the European average, Bulgaria shares with Portugal one of the lowest levels of sport in Europe, and Portugal is the country with the lowest level of physical activity in the European Union. We also have Italy in our consortium, which is among the European averages with the worst records in this area. We also realized how important it is to involve countries outside the European Union that bring another perspective, with different realities such as Serbia, one of the most physically active countries in Europe, which showed one of the lowest levels of physical activity and sport.

Project partners (6)