NGO Atina - Strong alone, unstoppable together

Youth education in Bujanovac

Photo: Dragan Spasov

When we think about sport, we usually think of games, competition, and physical activity. For us, however, sport is much more than that. It is a space where young people can meet peers from different backgrounds, build self-confidence and mutual trust, learn how to recognize and respond to violence, and above all, feel that they belong to the community they live in.

This is precisely why sport has an important place in Atina’s work with children and young people to prevent human trafficking and violence.

For more than 23 years, Atina has supported women, girls, and others who have survived violence, human trafficking, and various forms of exploitation, while also developing prevention programs aimed at preventing violence, gender-based discrimination, and social exclusion. Our long-standing experience in working with young people has thaught us that meaningful change does not happen through one-off activities, but through building trust and ensuring continuity.

This experience is at the heart of "Strong Alone, Unstoppable Together – Sport for social justice," a project implemented by Atina with the support of the Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation. The project was created in response to the need for greater social inclusion of young people, particularly those growing up in multi-ethnic, migrant, and socially disadvantaged communities, where divisions, gender stereotypes, violence, and the risks of exploitation are often more pronounced. In contrast, opportunities to learn together, connect, and actively participate in community life remain limited.

Photo: Volleyball tournament in Novi Pazar

In many communities across Serbia, young people grow up alongside one another, but not necessarily together. Ethnic, religious, and other social divisions often determine who they spend time with, where they socialize and spend their free time, and how many opportunities they have to participate in the life of their communities. At the same time, gender stereotypes continue to limit equal opportunities for many young people to develop their potential and participate fully and equally in society.

The project  runs from June 2025 to June 2027 in Belgrade, Subotica, Preševo, Bujanovac, Novi Pazar, and Tutin, in cooperation with schools, sports clubs, civil society organizations, and local partners. It is intended for young people aged 14 to 24 from diverse ethnic, social, migrant, and refugee backgrounds.

On the sports fields, many of these boundaries begin to  matter less. A shared goal, teamwork, and mutual support create opportunities for connection and trust. And it is precisely in this kind of environment that conversations emerge, which might never take place in a classroom or another formal setting.

Issues that have a profound impact on young people's lives - violence, peer pressure, discrimination, gender stereotypes, feelings of insecurity, and the risks of human trafficking - often remain unspoken. Not because they are unimportant, but because young people rarely have spaces where they feel safe enough to ask questions, share their experiences, and speak openly with one another.

Photo: Dragan Spasov

That is why this program combines sport with non-formal education, life skills development, and active youth participation in the community. Through youth leadership trainings, interactive workshops, sports activities, and community initiatives, participants strengthen their communication and leadership skills, learn how to resolve conflicts, recognize violence and discrimination, understand the importance of gender equality, and become agents of positive change among their peers.

The program includes inclusive "Sport for solidarity" tournaments, workshops on gender equality, human rights, and violence prevention, youth leadership trainings, and campaigns designed and led by young people themselves. In this way, sport becomes a platform for developing leadership, public advocacy, teamwork, solidarity, and active citizenship.

 It is particularly important to us to create opportunities for those for whom sport is not always a natural or accessible part of growing up. For many girls and young people from marginalized, migrant and multi-ethnic communities, sport is not necessarily a space where they feel welcome or one they can access on equal terms. That is why we want to create an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to participate, where diversity is recognized as a strength, and where every young person can develop their full potential.

An important part of the program also consists of youth-led initiatives - including campaigns, school and community activities, social media content, and other actions through which young people turn their ideas into meaningful change. In this way, what begins in workshops and on the sports fields continues to grow among peers and within the communities they come from.

Over the course of the project, more than 500 young people are expected to participate, alongside 10 inclusive sports tournaments, 20 workshops and training sessions, and support 15 youth-led campaigns. Through community activities and awareness campaigns, the program is expected to directly reach more than 5,000 young people, spreading messages of solidarity, gender equality, non-violence, and social inclusion.
Photo: Seid Vejselović

In the coming months, we will follow program’s implementation through stories of young leaders, sports events, workshops, and initiatives launched by participants in their own communities. Through their experiences, we will show how sport can become much more than a game - it can be a space for learning, connection, solidarity, and positive social change.

We believe that young people are not simply participants in this program - they are the drivers of change. By creating opportunities for them to learn from one another, work together, and build trust, we help create communities that are more resilient to violence, more open to diversity, and better equipped to build a fairer society for everyone.

Through this program, Atina continues to develop approaches in which sport becomes a powerful space for fostering solidarity, gender equality, social cohesion, while contributing to the prevention of violence and human trafficking. In doing so, we work toward communities where every young person has the opportunity to be seen, heard, and empowered to make a difference in the world around them.