{"id":27044,"date":"2024-06-07T08:36:56","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T08:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www1090.fide.com\/?p=27044"},"modified":"2024-06-17T11:09:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T11:09:00","slug":"refugee-team-ready-to-compete-on-global-stage-at-chess-olympiad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/refugee-team-ready-to-compete-on-global-stage-at-chess-olympiad\/","title":{"rendered":"Refugee Team ready to compete on global stage at Chess Olympiad"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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In an exceptional step towards empowerment and inclusivity, the selection for the Refugee Chess Team \u2013 which will for the first time be competing at a Chess Olympiad – has concluded at the Kakuma refugee camp in\u00a0Kenya<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/p>

This historic milestone marks a new chapter in FIDE’s initiative for refugees “Chess for Protection” launched in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

The selection process consisted of tournaments held at schools and community centers in Kakuma.\u00a0The events were organized by a\u00a0team of FIDE officials, including licensed arbiter David Lekopien, Chess Kenya President Benard Wanjala, and representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

The project aims to send people a message of hope and opportunity, regardless of their background and life circumstances. The initiative underscores FIDE’s\u00a0longstanding\u00a0commitment to promoting inclusivity and unity through chess.\u00a0<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

During their stay in Kakuma, the Deputy Chair of the Managing Board of FIDE, Dana Reizniece-Ozola and the Chair of the FIDE Commission on Women’s Chess, Anastasia Sorokina, gave lectures and simuls and met with students to assess their chess skills and understand their circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

They also paid an official visit to Dr. Salome M.Beacco, CBS Principal Secretary of the State Department for Correctional Services, to discuss the implementation of another FIDE social project \u2013 Chess for Prisons \u2013 and discuss prospects of including the Kenyan penitentiary facilities in the project.\u00a0The\u00a0delegation of officials from Kenya\u00a0was invited\u00a0to the upcoming Chess for Freedom Conference, scheduled to take place from June 19 to 21 in Pune, India.\u00a0FIDE also hopes the country will join the 4th Intercontinental Championship among Prisoners in October 2024.\u00a0<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

A Triumph of Talent and Perseverance<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>

The goal of the selection process was to find 10 promising players\u00a0\u2013\u00a0five for the Women’s team and five for the Open\u00a0\u2013\u00a0who\u00a0would represent the\u00a0team of Refugees\u00a0at the forthcoming Olympiad in Budapest (Hungary) in September.\u00a0<\/p>

The participants came from community chess clubs, primary and secondary schools, and the Girls Club.\u00a0<\/p>

Empowering Through Chess<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>

Caught in the spirals of conflict, poverty, and rejection, those without a home or legal status face many challenges\u00a0just\u00a0to achieve\u00a0basic\u00a0human rights such as freedom and the right to develop and think freely.\u00a0<\/p>

The Chess for Protection \u2013 jointly executed by FIDE, UNHCR, LWF, Chess Kenya, and the Kakuma Chess Club \u2013 is aiming to make a change for the refugee community. So far, in this project in Kenya, over 2,000 children from 36 schools have taken part and have received training and advice applicable to other aspects of life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

The Girls Club has been particularly impactful. Launched in August 2021, the club aims to help refugee girls learn chess, acquire new life skills, and find a way to express themselves, doing so in a safe environment. The club operates in three girls’ boarding schools and has seen significant participation, with 250 schoolgirls attending chess classes twice a week.\u00a0<\/p>

The program not only teaches chess but also incorporates lessons on the social benefits of the game, helping the students to build skills which are useful both on and off the chess board.\u00a0<\/p>

Looking Ahead to the Olympiad<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>

The selected team members will now move to the next stage\u00a0\u2013\u00a0working with a trainer who will prepare them not just for a grand event such as the Chess Olympiad but also\u00a0help them prepare themselves\u00a0for the trip and the experiences they will have.\u00a0The trainer will be selected by the Social Commission of FIDE.\u00a0<\/p>

The UNHCR and the Kenyan government will support the team in getting the necessary documentation processes, ensuring a smooth journey to the Olympiad. FIDE will cover all travel costs for the two teams.\u00a0<\/p>

In\u00a0the words of Dana Reizniece-Ozola: “We are happy that nearly three years\u00a0since\u00a0the launch of the project, we have the first team of refugees that will take part in the Olympiad. We want to show the world that chess is an excellent tool to empower people and lead to change, and this story is a confirmation of that!”<\/p>

Photos: Stev Bonhage<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an exceptional step towards empowerment and inclusivity, the selection for the Refugee Chess Team \u2013 which will for the first time be competing at a Chess Olympiad – has concluded at the Kakuma refugee camp in\u00a0Kenya\u00a0 This historic milestone marks a new chapter in FIDE’s initiative for refugees “Chess for Protection” launched in 2021.\u00a0 The selection process consisted of tournaments held at schools and community centers in Kakuma.\u00a0The events were organized by a\u00a0team of FIDE officials, including licensed arbiter David Lekopien, Chess Kenya President Benard Wanjala, and representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).\u00a0\u00a0 The project aims to send people a message of hope and opportunity, regardless of their background and life circumstances. The initiative underscores FIDE’s\u00a0longstanding\u00a0commitment to promoting inclusivity and unity through chess.\u00a0 During their stay in Kakuma, the Deputy Chair of the Managing Board of FIDE, Dana Reizniece-Ozola and the Chair of the FIDE Commission on Women’s Chess, Anastasia Sorokina, gave lectures and simuls and met with students to assess their chess skills and understand their circumstances.\u00a0 They also paid an official visit to Dr. Salome M.Beacco, CBS Principal Secretary of the State Department for Correctional Services, to discuss the implementation of another FIDE social project \u2013 Chess for Prisons \u2013 and discuss prospects of including the Kenyan penitentiary facilities in the project.\u00a0The\u00a0delegation of officials from Kenya\u00a0was invited\u00a0to the upcoming Chess for Freedom Conference, scheduled to take place from June 19 to 21 in Pune, India.\u00a0FIDE also hopes the country will join the 4th Intercontinental Championship among Prisoners in October 2024.\u00a0 A Triumph of Talent and Perseverance\u00a0 The goal of the selection process was to find 10 promising players\u00a0\u2013\u00a0five for the Women’s team and five for the Open\u00a0\u2013\u00a0who\u00a0would represent the\u00a0team of Refugees\u00a0at the forthcoming Olympiad in Budapest (Hungary) in September.\u00a0 The participants came from community chess clubs, primary and secondary schools, and the Girls Club.\u00a0 Empowering Through Chess\u00a0 Caught in the spirals of conflict, poverty, and rejection, those without a home or legal status face many challenges\u00a0just\u00a0to achieve\u00a0basic\u00a0human rights such as freedom and the right to develop and think freely.\u00a0 The Chess for Protection \u2013 jointly executed by FIDE, UNHCR, LWF, Chess Kenya, and the Kakuma Chess Club \u2013 is aiming to make a change for the refugee community. So far, in this project in Kenya, over 2,000 children from 36 schools have taken part and have received training and advice applicable to other aspects of life.\u00a0\u00a0 The Girls Club has been particularly impactful. Launched in August 2021, the club aims to help refugee girls learn chess, acquire new life skills, and find a way to express themselves, doing so in a safe environment. The club operates in three girls’ boarding schools and has seen significant participation, with 250 schoolgirls attending chess classes twice a week.\u00a0 The program not only teaches chess but also incorporates lessons on the social benefits of the game, helping the students to build skills which are useful both on and off the chess board.\u00a0 Looking Ahead to the Olympiad\u00a0 The selected team members will now move to the next stage\u00a0\u2013\u00a0working with a trainer who will prepare them not just for a grand event such as the Chess Olympiad but also\u00a0help them prepare themselves\u00a0for the trip and the experiences they will have.\u00a0The trainer will be selected by the Social Commission of FIDE.\u00a0 The UNHCR and the Kenyan government will support the team in getting the necessary documentation processes, ensuring a smooth journey to the Olympiad. FIDE will cover all travel costs for the two teams.\u00a0 In\u00a0the words of Dana Reizniece-Ozola: “We are happy that nearly three years\u00a0since\u00a0the launch of the project, we have the first team of refugees that will take part in the Olympiad. We want to show the world that chess is an excellent tool to empower people and lead to change, and this story is a confirmation of that!” Photos: Stev Bonhage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":27046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[45,158],"regular":[],"sticky-post":[],"class_list":["post-27044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fide-news","tag-chess-for-refugees","tag-chess-olympiad"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27044"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27049,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27044\/revisions\/27049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27044"},{"taxonomy":"regular","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regular?post=27044"},{"taxonomy":"sticky-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sticky-post?post=27044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}