Students and staff from the School of Business and Humanities recently attended a major workshop on strategies geared towards promoting and implementing sustainable policies around inclusion, diversity awareness and anti-racism in sport. The ‘Sport and Integration Workshop Conference’, was organised by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), HSE Community Games, Joinin (European Union social inclusion of migrant youth through sport), and SPIN (sport inclusion network), and was staged at the Aviva Stadium conference venue in Dublin.
Students from the BA in Applied Social Care programme were joined by their colleagues studying on the Bachelor of Business & Recreation and Leisure studies course.
Reflecting the ‘hands-on’ nature of the event, participants were initially exposed to a number of outstanding good practice case studies highlighting the success of inclusion in sport initiatives from researchers and practitioners in the UK and the Netherlands. They were then afforded the opportunity to contribute to a series of round table discussions on ways in which organic grass root sporting organisations and policy-makers might best inculcate policies that foster and sustain diversity awareness, anti-racism and inclusion.
Dr John Pender, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Politics, said that the event – following so soon after the recent publication of an Immigrant Council of Ireland’s report on racism experienced by migrants in Dublin – was a “timely reminder of the insidious and pervasive nature of racism and prejudice in wider society and how sport is so well positioned to provide creative and tangible opportunities geared towards exploding unhelpful and damaging stereotypes.”
Mirroring the diverse presentations provided, Ryan Smith, third year student of Bachelor of Business & Recreation and Leisure studies, was impressed by the approach adopted by the martial arts community in the Netherlands: “The example of using martial arts for practical social inclusion was excellent and something that can be easily replicated in this country,” he said.
Third year Applied Social Care student Carmel Joyce enjoyed the entire event and commented: “The social inclusion through sport conference in the Aviva was informative and interactive. Many different external bodies were there to promote multi-cultural activities regardless of race, culture or religious values. Well worth the 6 am start!”
An underlying theme to emerge from the event was the extent to which the European Commission and State agencies are grappling with the issues explored and actively seeking to adopt a ‘joined-up’ policy approach to the construction of an intercultural Ireland. Lecturer in Sports Strategy and Policy, Roddy Gaynor, was of the view that the conference presented an “excellent opportunity for students from two different programmes to collaborate and learn about an important emerging policy area in sport.”
Following the event Dr Pender suggested that: “It is now absolutely vital that inter-departmental and programme cooperation in the development of closer teaching and research links between Applied Social Care and Recreation and Leisure studies is necessary so as to offer students and staff trans-disciplinary teaching and learning opportunities that ultimately facilitate greater employability among graduates entering more complex and diverse labour markets.”
Caption: Lecturers Dr John Pender and Roddy Gaynor pictured with students at the Sport and Integration Workshop Conference’ at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.