International Yoga Day: Yoga and Sport with Refugees
21/06/2025Kasper Bøgsted Kristensen, ISCA
Photos in this story is from Yoga and Sport with Refugees
Today is International Yoga Day, and to mark the occasion we are highlighting the engagement of Yoga and Sport with Refugees in the NowWeMOVE campaigns – #NoElevatorsDay 2025 and #MOVEWeek 2025.
“We believe one benefit of sport and physical activity often goes unnoticed – the power to bring people together for a shared goal. In our projects, we use sport as a tool for inclusion and integration of displaced communities,” says Donal Cotter, Communications and Advocacy Manager at Yoga and Sport with Refugees.
Participating in MOVE Week and #NoElevatorsDay as a National Coordinator gives Yoga and Sport with Refugees the opportunity to share their love of sport with new people in their local communities and reach wider audiences through social media.
See you later, Elevator!
During #NoElevatorsDay, Yoga and Sport with Refugees facilitated events across all their locations. In Lesvos, they organised a unique outdoor bouldering event; in Paris and Athens, they climbed the stairs of Montmartre and Lycabettus; and in Ioannina, they ascended the famous Zagori Steps.
“Our event in Lesvos took first prize for sure; a community bouldering session, rock climbing short distances outdoors with soft pads to protect anyone who falls. We held this event at a big rock located along a popular walking path in Mytilini. There were no elevators in sight that day,” says Donal Cotter.
Yoga and Sport with Refugees engaged their direct community of hundreds of international volunteers, displaced people and local enthusiasts across their projects in France and Greece.
Volleyball brings people together
For MOVE Week, Yoga and Sport with Refugees hosted one main event: an open volleyball tournament in Lesvos between their Athens and Lesvos teams. Around 60 community members took part.
“The atmosphere at the event was incredible, everyone was really hyped to play and pushed really hard to perform at their peak. Many of the Athens visitors were meeting our Lesvos community for the first time, so the feeling of people coming together and a sense of real community spirit was present from the start,” says Donal Cotter.
Both the volleyball tournament during MOVE Week and the events during #NoElevatorsDay brought people together, spreading positivity and wellbeing. This year’s focus of MOVE Week was on mental wellbeing, highlighting the ABCs of Mental Health and Mental Health Vitamins.
