FC Barcelona Foundation and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) held today 13 June an international forum to raise awareness of the situation of refugees around the world, with special attention to refugee children and how sport can help their integration and be a tool of positive social transformation.

The first high level forum 'Transformative Power of Sport: Champions #WithRefugees" was chaired by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and the President of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu and aims to rally support from civil society actors, including humanitarian and sport organisations as well as members of the business, technology and culture sectors.

"The love of sport brings people together in a unique way. The passion and acceptance that comes from playing and supporting teams can dissolve differences. I hope this strengthened relationship with the FC Barcelona Foundation, will pave the way for a significant improvement of the lives of millions of refugee children and bring communities together," said Grandi.

Ahead of the forum, FC Barcelona Foundation and UNHCR announced a new campaign to rally support for refugee children. Named #SignAndPass, the campaign is inspired by Barcelona’s football philosophy where one-touch, short passing between players has been a hallmark of their recent success. Supporters can digitally sign a football online and then pass it to their friends via social media.

By signing the ball supporters add their name to UNHCR’s #WithRefugees petition which calls on world governments and fellow citizens to make sure all refugees can have a safe place to live, receive an education and are able to work so they can provide for their families.

Josep Maria Bartomeu said:"This is one of the most serious problems that the world has had to face in recent decades. With over 21 million refugees, more than half of them being children, we feel it is our responsibility to contribute through sport, using it as a tool to achieve social change.

"With this alliance with UNHCR, we are not only launching a global campaign, in addition to projects on the ground, but we also aim to be a role model that encourages other entities and companies to get involved and participate in actions like this."

Key players of the Catalan club, including Lionel Messi and Neymar Junior, have pledget their support to the campaign.

"I am proud to be part of this important initiative in favour of refugees and hope it will help change the dramatic situation that millions of refugee children around the world are currently experiencing. Sign and pass!" said Lionel Messi.

The FC Barcelona Foundation also announced the roll-out of the FutbolNet programme in refugee reception centres in Greece, Italy and Lebanon starting from July.

The program uses sport to improve social skills, conflict prevention and conflict resolution among refugee children and adolescents, to enhance their emotional well-being and to foster their social inclusion in host countries.

A “Sports kit”, which was developed with the help of the FCB’s Innovation Hub, will also soon be tested in several field locations. It includes innovatively designed sports equipment and operating instructions that can be used in refugee sites all over the world, regardless of cultural, climatological and environmental considerations.

From UNHRC.org