{"id":26116398,"date":"2026-07-14T16:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/children-at-the-heart-of-the-together-in-sport-phase-ii-closing-event\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:28:10","slug":"children-at-the-heart-of-the-together-in-sport-phase-ii-closing-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/children-at-the-heart-of-the-together-in-sport-phase-ii-closing-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Children at the heart of the \u201cTogether in Sport \u2013 Phase II\u201d closing event"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-26116398 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/?attachment_id=26116368'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_6.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Metadrasi -\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_6.webp 1920w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_6-1280x853.webp 1280w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_6-980x653.webp 980w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_6-480x320.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1920px, 100vw\" title=\"Metadrasi -\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/?attachment_id=26116366'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_5.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Metadrasi -\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_5.webp 1920w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_5-1280x853.webp 1280w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_5-980x653.webp 980w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_5-480x320.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1920px, 100vw\" title=\"Metadrasi -\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/?attachment_id=26116372'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DSC05469.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Metadrasi -\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DSC05469.webp 1920w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DSC05469-1280x853.webp 1280w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DSC05469-980x653.webp 980w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DSC05469-480x320.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1920px, 100vw\" title=\"Metadrasi -\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/?attachment_id=26116370'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_7.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Metadrasi -\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_7.webp 1920w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_7-1280x853.webp 1280w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_7-980x653.webp 980w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_7-480x320.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1920px, 100vw\" title=\"Metadrasi -\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Press Release<\/strong><br \/>\n14\/07\/2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Children at the heart of the \u201cTogether in Sport \u2013 Phase II\u201d closing event<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Children, partners and friends of the programme celebrated the journey of \u201cTogether in Sport \u2013 Phase II\u201d at a warm and joyful event held at the Marathon Run Museum on Thursday, 9 July 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Over a five-year period, \u201cTogether in Sport\u201d gave more than 24,000 refugee children and children from local communities the opportunity to participate on an equal basis in 200 sports activities. They were introduced to Olympic sports, learned about cultural values and took part in cultural events.<\/p>\n<p>For refugee children in particular, who accounted for half of the programme\u2019s participants and live in camps and accommodation facilities, the anticipation of leaving the facilities to take part in \u201cTogether in Sport\u201d activities was especially intense and moving. At the same time, activities were also organised within camps.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the numbers, \u201cTogether in Sport\u201d leaves behind something far more meaningful, which is almost impossible to capture in tables and indicators: moments of joy, trust and effort. Children who tried a sport for the first time; young people who joined teams; coaches, Olympians, interpreters and volunteers who supported them; and communities that embraced the initiative. Above all, refugee children and children from local communities participated on equal terms, demonstrating that there is no discrimination in sport and culture.<\/p>\n<p>A distinctive feature of \u201cTogether in Sport\u201d was the special emphasis placed on creating infrastructure that would be freely available to everyone: two beach volleyball courts recently inaugurated in Mytilene, an outdoor fully equipped gym park in Ioannina, a renovated basketball court in Kavala, and an outdoor gym in Piraeus, which is expected to be completed in September.<\/p>\n<p>The event was welcomed through a message from the Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum, Sevi Voloudaki. The Secretary General for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection, Heracles Moskoff, highlighted the importance of sport as a means of inclusion, referring to the timely example of the World Cup, where many players are second- and third-generation descendants of migrants and refugees who now proudly represent the national teams of their host countries.<\/p>\n<p>Welcoming remarks were also delivered by Lora Pappa, President of METAdrasi, the organisation coordinating the programme; Voula Kozompoli, representing the Hellenic Olympic Committee; Agi Kasoumi, representing the General Secretariat of Sports; Karin Patok from the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees; and Antoni Tobias, representing the German Olympic Sports Confederation.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, in the outdoor area of the Marathon Run Museum, the joyful voices and laughter of 120 refugee children from nearby accommodation facilities and children from local communities could be heard as they explored five sports through specially designed activities, with the support of coaches from the Hellenic Olympic Committee. At the end, children and adults came together in an atmosphere of celebration and joy, and every child received a medal, which they wore with pride.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u201cTogether in Sport \u2013 Phase II\u201d is implemented by METAdrasi (project coordinator), the Hellenic Olympic Committee, and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) supports with coordination and co-funding. The project is also co-funded by the AMIF (2021-2027).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-26116398 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/?attachment_id=26116364'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_1.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Metadrasi -\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_1.webp 1920w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_1-1280x853.webp 1280w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_1-980x653.webp 980w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_1-480x320.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1920px, 100vw\" title=\"Metadrasi -\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/?attachment_id=26116362'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_8.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Metadrasi -\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_8.webp 1920w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_8-1280x853.webp 1280w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_8-980x653.webp 980w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_8-480x320.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1920px, 100vw\" title=\"Metadrasi -\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/?attachment_id=26116360'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_3.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Metadrasi -\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_3.webp 1920w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_3-1280x853.webp 1280w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_3-980x653.webp 980w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_3-480x320.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1920px, 100vw\" title=\"Metadrasi -\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/?attachment_id=26116358'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_2.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Metadrasi -\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_2.webp 1920w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_2-1280x853.webp 1280w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_2-980x653.webp 980w, https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Together_in_Sport-Closing-event_2-480x320.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1920px, 100vw\" title=\"Metadrasi -\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Press Release 14\/07\/2026 Children at the heart of the \u201cTogether in Sport \u2013 Phase II\u201d closing event Children, partners and friends of the programme celebrated the journey of \u201cTogether in Sport \u2013 Phase II\u201d at a warm and joyful event held at the Marathon Run Museum on Thursday, 9 July 2026. Over a five-year period, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26116368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,124],"tags":[1466,431],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-26116398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-room-en","category-announcements","tag-press-release-2","tag-press-release"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26116398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26116398"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26116398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26116400,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26116398\/revisions\/26116400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26116368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26116398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26116398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26116398"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=26116398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}