SPORT FOR SOCIAL COHESION LIVING LAB

We were delighted to finally get a chance to meet with our partners in the Erasmus+ funded Sport and Social Cohesion Lab (SSCL) for the first time  in The Hague. In this project, NGOs and universities work together using a Living Lab approach in order to increase social cohesion in diverse, vulnerable urban neighbourhoods and support practitioners in delivering high-quality sport for social cohesion programmes. Living Labs are user-centred, and based on a co-creation approach that integrates research and innovation processes in real life communities and settings. In short, Living Labs represent an innovative way of bringing beneficiaries and stakeholders together to tackle shared challenges. 

SARI joined the meeting together with European Network of Sport Education (ENSE), In Safe Hands e.V. (DE), Sport Against Racism Ireland (IR), Institute Of Technology Tralee (IR), The Hague University of Applied Science (NL), International Sports Alliance (NL), Palacky University Olomouc (CZ), INEX-SDA / fotbal pro Rozvoj (CZ) Swiss Academy for Development (CH) and the project coordinator, the German Sport University (DE).

The main objective of this meeting was to share existing knowledge and first results of working in the unique living labs. For 2022, the next steps of this innovative, pan-European project will be to adequately record, analyze and tailor the Living Lab approach to each unique setting. In the end, the project will also help provide guidance and knowledge to other sport organisations looking to engage with their communities and implement such an approach.