The Olympic Committee of Portugal has played host to a conference in Lisbon, where examples of good practices for refugee integration through sport were presented and discussed ©COP

The Olympic Committee of Portugal (COP) has played host to a conference in Lisbon, where examples of good practices for refugee integration through sport were presented and discussed.

Themed "Sports: Integration, Development and Peace", the conference is part of the COP’s "Living For Future - Embrace the Future" project, which is supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Opened by COP President José Manuel Constantino and the representative of the High Commissioner for Migration, Jose Antunes Fernandes, it comes amid the ongoing European refugee crisis which led to the IOC providing $2 million (£1.4 million/€1.7 million) to National Olympic Committees to fund programmes aimed at helping refugees in September.

The event was also attended by relevant national and international bodies involved in the reception of refugees, in order to discuss optimisation strategies of resources, sustainability and social integration. 

Alessandro Pinto, director of Global Outrech and former director of UNICEF, addressed several topics related to the issue of refugees and their integration through sport.

Pinto also spoke about "Save the Dream", an initiative of the International Centre for Sport Security and Qatar Olympic Committee.

Working alongside areas of organisations such as sports, culture, media and social technology, the project aims to empower youth through the values of sport, while promoting inter-cultural dialogue and social innovation.

The event was attended by relevant national and international bodies involved in the reception of refugees
The event was attended by relevant national and international bodies involved in the reception of refugees ©COP

Honey Thaljieh, FIFA’s corporate communications manager, spoke of football as a tool for integration and peace development. 

The Palestinian is the co-founder and first captain of her country’s women's national team. 

Even though she lived in a conflict zone, Thaljieh claimed she used football as a tool for achieving peace.

"Football changed my life, so I want to help others to achieve peace through football and other sports," she said.

The conference's final declaration was made by John Paul Almeida, director general of the COP, who made a commitment to a number of recommendations and guidelines.

Last week, Syrian swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein carried the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch on behalf of refugee athletes.

He did so at the Eleonas Refugee Centre in Athens in front of 1,500 refugees as a symbolic gesture to highlight their plight.

In 2012, Al Hussein, then a swimmer and judo player, lost part of his right leg in a bombing and now wears an artificial lower leg.