For the community, by the community: refugee and migrant empowerment through co-designed leisure programmes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Conflict, instability and the search for better economic prospects have seen a global migrant crisis necessitating destination countries to rethink social integration and social inclusion policies and programmes. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals have intensified the urgency for governments to promote the social, economic and political inclusion of their citizens, emphasizing migrant communities. Community level leisure and sport programmes present as an inexpensive option for local governments and social development organizations to support the inclusion and empowerment migrant communities. Using an instrumental case study design with a post-structural lens, this research note explored the power differential inherent in leisure and sport programmes and investigated co-design as process to address the power differential. Findings indicate that even though participants experienced a sense of self-empowerment and enhanced perception of social inclusion, co-design as stand-alone strategy does not fully resolve the power differential within leisure programmes presented to migrant residents.