Fare Finnish member Monaliiku is set to host a football festival in Helsinki on Saturday 14 October to further the inclusion of migrants and refugee women.

The one-day football festival, entitled ‘Football for Women Refugees’, is happening at the HSM-Areena and is constituted of a series of activities including a football tournament, dance performances, football freestyle, Teqball, music and more.

The event is aimed at supporting and furthering the social inclusion of migrants and refugees in Finland, create dialogue opportunities with members of the local community and raise awareness about the current situation refugees face in Finland and in Europe.

The festival was preceded by a seminar to debate the issues around the presence and participation of women in football and homophobia in football. The seminar was held on 10 October and brought together local clubs, NGOs and special guests.

The seminar also served as platform to share information about other programmes aimed at helping integrate refugee women, such as Monaliiku Fit4Life programme, which promotes healthy lifestyles and well-being among migrant and refugee women.

At the fesival, Monaliiku will launch the campaign ‘Hear My Journey - Voices of Refugee Women’ that will give refugees the opportunity to share their stories, concerns and ultimately give them a voice. The aim of this campaign is to raise awareness of what refugees have been through and to highlight the struggles they face throughout their journey to create better conditions for refugees to settle in and be integrated in their local communities.

Monaliiku's event is one of the highlights of this year's Football People weeks.