In recent years the integration and social inclusion of youth with an immigrant background (YIB) in the European Union has emerged as an urgent issue. All around the EU, civil unrest can be seen from frustrated youth.

Young people with an immigration background are significantly more likely to become NEET (not in education, employment, or training) than their native-born counterparts.

European policy makers recognize the plight of this marginalized group. It becomes even more evident that including YIB's as healthy, active and productive members at every level of society, is a pressing issue. European Sports policy recognizes the many ways in which sport can be utilized as a vehicle to achieve this goal. One key recommended policy action and development area is using the potential of sport to enhance social inclusion and integration of immigrants into European society.

Youth with Immigrant Background in Sport - YIBinS is a new project that aims at developing a framework for integration and social inclusion for first and second generation migrant youth through sports in Italy, Finland, Sweden, Spain and Bulgaria.

Social inclusion means integration, wellbeing, education, employment and active citizenship for the migrant youth.

The project partners intend to achieve the preset four objectives based on the EU White Paper on Sport (2007):

• Advance equal opportunities and enhance social inclusion of YIB's using sports as the main tool;
• Strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration of grassroot level stakeholders multilaterally; municipal sport services, associations and educational institutions;
• Activation of migrant youth into sports and active citizenship;
• Integration of YIB's (including refugees) into society through education and employment.

Suck objectives will be reached thanks to several local and transnational activities involving stakeholders working in educational, job and sport sectors.

In December a very interesting seminar was held in Sofia (Bulgaria); the aim of the such public event was to see the status quo of youth with an immigrant background’s integration in the sport sector.

Following the results of the seminar, in the next months each partner will implement local initiatives aimed to improve such integration, strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration of grassroot level stakeholders multilaterally.