The project "Sport for social Change and Education" (1) aimed to foster tolerance towards other ethnicities and respectful interaction among participants. The project addressed 40 children and youth in Bijeljina of which 70 percent were Roma and 30 percent non-Roma children, all of whom do not attended school regularly. The participation in S4D training was directly linked to regular attendance in school, additional workshops with a focus on health issues were obligatory and the parents were incorporated in the educational process as well. Thereby, the children and youth were given crucial support to change their attitude towards school, improve their school grades and therefore open up more opportunities for the future.

The GIZ programme "Social Inclusion through Sport in the Balkan Region" (2) seeks to closely cooperate with local networks consisting of municipalities, NGOs, schools, kindergartens and sport clubs, which are engaged in developing and implementing local S4D strategies in the following countries of the Western Balkans: North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The activities of all networks focus on strengthening the capacities of coaches, trainers, PE teachers, social/youth workers and young professionals to use sport, physical activity and games as instruments for social inclusion of marginalized groups and community development. They raise awareness of S4D by staging social inclusive sport activities, improving the accessibility and increasing the participatory conditions of sport grounds and equipment. Networking, exchange and cooperation among different stakeholders on local, national and regional level fosters social cohesion and learning within communities and across borders.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the high unemployment rate is a major problem. Roma are one of the most vulnerable minorities and their social situation is characterized by poor living conditions, housing problems and educational obstacles. Another major issue is the fact that a large number of Roma children are not registered in the Birth Registry, and therefore cannot be enrolled in school. Poverty, poor nutrition and the lack of education of parents are the main causes of unequal chances of Roma children compared to the other children. The Action Plan "Inclusion through sport" aims to support the socially disadvantaged community in achieving social cohesion and overcoming prejudices, increasing the positive influence on public opinion and spreading ethical principles. Target groups are Roma and children who have experienced violence. By organizing sport activities, children will be provided with an adequate pedagogical and educational approach that will contribute not only to proper physical development, but also to the emotional and cognitive development of children. Through the project, young people acquire specific soft and professional skills that will lead to a higher potential of employment.

The sport-pedagogical qualification of coaches and teachers is the main component of our advanced education and training programmes in the field of S4D ("Capacity Development on Individual Level"). Below you will find workshop documents from Bosnia and Herzegovina which give you some insight into workshop contents and discussions. 

We invite you to have a look at the following teaching and learning material, which was created with our partner organizations in the Western Balkan. You will find a more detailed description about the materials in our collection S4D Tools for your Practice/Teaching and Learning Materials.

If you want to have more detailed and/or further information about S4D in the country, please have a look at the following publications.

The local sport for development nets (L-S4D-Nets) approach in the Western Balkan region is described in an interactive roadmap. The aim of this publication is to present the approach and to capture the main learnings. The roadmap also serves as a practical and hands on working aid that supports other sport for development programmes in shaping their own local networking activities.
Roadmap