Another initiative of the Hellenic Olympic Committee to celebrate the World Judo Day 2021 was carried out in cooperation with the Judo Academy of Elliniko and the Greek Olympic Judo Champion Karagiannopoulou Maria, who invited refugee children, including asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors residing in Athens, to a training session. This year’s celebration is themed ‘SOLIDARITY’, a theme which was chosen worldwide and guided the organization of this special sporting event.

43 children, including some under the care of the two non-profit organizations The HOME Project and the Melissa Network, had the opportunity to learn about the history and the values of judo, meet in person the national coach Nikos Iliadis and several European and national judo champions, and participate in a joint training session with the academy’s students.

This great event was organized in the framework of the project ‘Together in Sport’, implemented by the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), in cooperation with METAdrasi – project leader in Greece – and the German Olympic Sports Confederation.

‘Together in Sport’ is funded by the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union and will run until June 30th, 2022.