Sports: Moving together, learning from each other
Sports activities offer low-threshold opportunities to come into contact with each other. People who have agreed on shared rules can play with or against each other and engage in sports. It is no coincidence that sports are viewed as such a great integrating force: People who move together are quicker to find common ground – even if they do not speak each other’s language.
The FGYO knows how sports can bring people together and makes systematic use of sports for youth encounters. Sports encounters give young people an opportunity to pursue their passion or at least a favourite hobby: Thanks to this commonality, they quickly come into contact with each other, learn from one another and interact.
Sporting encounters offer young people a variety of opportunities to develop their own personalities. The exchange projects promote participants’ independence; when young people broach the ‘unknown’ by means of the known, they have an opportunity to reflect on themselves. They can confront new sports challenges, learn more about the other culture and surpass themselves.
The FGYO supports sports encounters among young people
The FGYO promotes sports encounters of all kinds. It is not the particular sport or the level of performance but rather the intercultural dimension that is decisive. One of the most important characteristics of this is the principle of reciprocity under which an exchange takes place in both Germany and France. This gives young people from both countries the chance to get to know the neighbouring country, and to gain experience as hosts. Incidentally: The exchange can also include a third country.
The FGYO provides financial support for sports encounters, with subsidies for travel, accommodations and programme expenses. Language encouragement is also eligible for funding and a meaningful part of the effort to derive the greatest possible benefit from the encounters. In addition, the FGYO helps clubs from different countries get in touch with each other and plan a shared exchange.
Young people can also become involved in sports clubs or associations through the Franco-German Volunteer Service. The Volunteer Service lasts about a year and gives participants an opportunity to become deeply immersed in the work of the partner, and to get to know sports from a different point of view.
