Integration in Unisport Jena
Playing sport together – Welcome to Unisport
Since its foundation in 2015, the Welcome Unisport initiative – an association of many volunteers under the leadership of UNISPORT – has stood for a diverse range of sports activities that offer meeting spaces for people with a migration background and the residents of Jena, promote health and create positive exercise experiences. At the same time, it also supports language acquisition, the reduction of prejudices and cultural exchange. We are convinced that playing sport together offers an ideal platform for breaking down any fears and prejudices and promoting integration.
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Our programmes
In addition to the commitment of the departments, there are also regular courses that are open to everyone and are organised via the university sports programme. We also organise sports days for the whole family, which offer the opportunity to draw attention to the range of activities on offer, introduce sports and attract interested parties in a relaxed atmosphere.
In principle, all university sports and USV Jena programmes can also be used by prior arrangement.
Participate now!
We are a team of a dozen volunteers, mostly students and doctoral candidates at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, who are always happy to receive additional support.
Do you like sport? Do you want to get socially involved? Do you think diversity is important and want to work towards an inclusive society? Then you’ve come to the right place! We want to give people with different life experiences and from different cultures the chance to get to know each other while playing sport together and can always use support.
Whether you enjoy organising, training or looking after social media, there are many ways to get involved with us. We are a colourful group of students, doctoral candidates and people in working life, in which you have the opportunity to get involved according to your time resources and interests. The best way to get in touch is via our e-mail address .
We look forward to seeing YOU.
Past actions
Kite flying at the Napoleonstein
In October, we went kite flying together with the Welcome Unisport initiative. Almost thirty people from different countries and cultures made the ascent to the Napoleonstein.
Once at the top, the kites were unpacked, for some for the first time! The sky was covered in colourful kites that danced in the wind and made a truly spectacular sight.
Scavenger hunt 2.0: multicultural geocaching in the Kernberge mountains
In 2022, the USV Jena integration project organised a very special excursion in the beautiful surroundings of Jena. 22 people set off on a four-hour geo-caching tour through Jena’s core mountains.
The hiking group was a colourful mix. Refugee families from Ukraine, migrants from Iraq and Afghanistan, hiking enthusiasts from Jena and the surrounding area as well as team members from the Welcome Unisport team took part.
Film evening at the University Sports Centre – „Welcome Unisport“ initiative shows documentary about sport and integration
„Integration is not a one-way street“ – this was not only the title of the film, but also the general conclusion of the evening. More than 30 interested people gathered in the restaurant of the University Sports Centre on Wednesday, 16 November 2022, to watch the documentary about Amin Sarkhosh’s life in Erfurt and talk to him.
In 2014, 35-year-old Amin Sarkhosh had to flee Afghanistan, where he had previously worked as a translator for the German Armed Forces. In 2018, he founded the Move association in Erfurt, which not only advises and supports refugees, but has also set up a sports programme. In addition to football training for children, there is also a cricket team that pursues ambitious goals.
The documentary impressively shows the many difficulties that refugees have to overcome in everyday life and how difficult it is sometimes made for them by society, which repeatedly demands that they integrate. The fact that both sides have to approach each other, be curious and open, becomes clear in the film’s accompaniment of the association founder, advisor, organisational talent and human being Amin. Following the film, many participants took the opportunity to ask Amin questions and talk to each other in the USZ restaurant.
Anyone who would like to get involved in the field of sport and integration, to whatever extent, is very welcome to join the „Welcome Unisport“ initiative.
Action day to get to know the sports facilities 5 March 2022
Arriving and settling in a new place and/or a new country is associated with many challenges. Although there is a wide range of support services available, these are not always known or there are inhibitions about making contact. Thanks to their diversity and reach, organised sports and exercise opportunities can contribute to the successful integration of refugees and ensure peaceful coexistence.
On Saturday 5 March, we from the Unisport Welcome Team therefore set off to the two shared accommodation centres Egelsee and Weidigsmühle, where new refugees moved in at the end of last year. We wanted to introduce ourselves, our initiative and the Unisport programme and at the same time provide everyone involved with a fun-filled afternoon. In two groups, we picked up interested people who had already been informed about the programme by the accommodation providers from their respective accommodation and took them to the university sports grounds to show them the sports facilities.
The participants were particularly interested in the fitness area and had the opportunity to try out some of the outdoor and indoor equipment under supervision. After the short tour, there was tea and snacks, further information about our projects and the opportunity to use the UnisportCard and thus gain regular access to our sports facilities
