12/12/2021
Bulgaria
participants
The main goal of Erasmus Olympics was to promote social inclusion through tackling stereotypes and cultural differences using sport as a universal language. The target groups was high-school students from underrepresented groups, who typically don't pursuit higher education, Erasmus students and local university students. We strongly believe that by doing sport we can work towards closing the gap of discrimination of different minorities in our local society. Moreover, the event was a perfect tool to promote higher education among high-school students from underrepresented groups and the opportunities within the Erasmus programme among all participants. By raising awareness on these topics and fighting for a common cause, i.e. charity, we underlined the need for active participation in society.
Europe needs more cohesive and inclusive societies that allow citizens to play an active role in the daily democratic life. Sports is one of the common languages which unites people from different background and allows them to develop their voices, needs and personalities through facing the challenge of a game.
Erasmus Olympics was a sports activity which consisted of small tournaments in few areas – volleyball and table tennis. Each team included participants from mixed background - Erasmus students on exchange in Plovdiv - our city, local university students and high school graders from underrepresented groups. Creating this setup, we aimed to target discrimination and stereotypes as a major issue in the local community in order to provide better understanding and to raise awareness on the topic.
The organization of the games was handled by ESN Plovdiv´s volunteers and some external guests - volunteers, referees, medical support.
Erasmus Olympics happened on 11th December and was a whole-day event within the period of the Social Impact Days in December. Due to the complicated COVID-19 situation in the big cities, the event had to be held in the mountains, in near by sports town Chepelare. Creating such event in such place helped us to reach more local youngsters from underprivileged groups and to expand the impact of the aims we have set to achieve.
The ESN team, the volunteers and the Erasmus and local students gathered in the morning and got transported to beautiful Chepelare. The event kicked off with an introduction of ESN Plovdiv, ESN in general and a brief project presentation. All participants presented themselves and had the chance to express in a non-formal way through games and ice-breakers their expectations and personal goals for the event. The event continued with the first games in each sport. There was lunch break with free space to mingle, to communicate with each other and to test participants’ language abilities. The sports day continued in the afternoon. There was short debrief at the end of the day in order to provide general feedback and to evaluate whether the event has met the expectations of the participants and has achieved the set goals.
All events were open for audience. The participants in the games and the spectators were invited to contribute with "pay-as-you-wish" based pricing for the games. The idea was that the collected money will be used to support a bookstore in Plovdiv, which is entirely funded by donations. Its mission is to support children with intellectual disabilities and their families both financially and mentally.
