Reggio Calabria, capital of sport, rights, and social cohesion – SPORTPEACE25
To mark the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, the Italian Sports Centre (CSI) of Reggio Calabria, in collaboration with schools, local and international organisations, and UNICRI, launched the initiative SPORTPEACE25. From 31 March to 6 April, the city hosted a rich programme of activities, events, and workshops. Reggio Calabria is increasingly becoming a point of reference for impactful initiatives promoting inclusion, participation, and the rule of law.
Sunday 31 March – WHAT A GAME
The week opened in Arghillà, a fragile neighbourhood of Reggio Calabria, where a recently built sports field quickly became a place for children to reclaim their right to play. The team Polisportiva Arghillà a Colori competed against their peers from Mirabella in the Under-12 CSI National Futsal Championship. Zvonimir Boban joined the event to inaugurate a mural created by the Metropolitan City and the Municipality of Reggio Calabria.
Tuesday 1 April – LIBERA GAMES25
Held at the PalaCSI in Gallina in collaboration with Libera Reggio Calabria, the student multi-sport tournament honoured the memory of innocent victims of organised crime. For one morning, the locker rooms became spaces of remembrance. Each student team was symbolically captained by a child victim:
Giuseppina Utano, aged 3, killed in San Giovanni di Sambatello
Dodò Gabriele, aged 11, killed while playing football in Crotone
Mariangela Ansalone, aged 9, killed in Oppido Mamertina
Wednesday 2 April – BASKIN OF EMOTIONS
The PalaMangione in Gioia Tauro hosted a basketball match between Baskin Tiger Gioia Tauro and Inclusion Messina. The event, organised in collaboration with Angeli di Pollicino, emphasised values of participation and inclusion.
Thursday 3 April – ONE MOVE FOR PEACE
Piazza Italia in the heart of Reggio Calabria was transformed into a giant checkers board for the activity One Move for Peace. Through the game, young people promoted messages of non-violence and peace, engaging passers-by, teachers, and families. The workshop was organised in collaboration with the Calabria Draughts Federation, the Nuovi Orizzonti School, and the association Il Bianco e il Nero.
Friday 4 April – JUSTICE AND PEACE ON THE FIELD
Students from the Raffaele Piria Scientific and Sports High School in Rosarno participated in a focus event dedicated to justice and peace. Speakers included Maria Falcone, sister of magistrate Giovanni Falcone, investigative journalist and author Sergio Nazzaro and Marina Mazzini of UNICRI.
In the afternoon, the international conference Playing is a Right: Sport for Social Inclusion and Development – International Alliances took place in hybrid format, hosted at the Cracow University of Economics and followed online by participants from across Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Opening remarks were delivered by Kinga Michałowska, Head of the Law Department at the university, and Marina Mazzini from UNICRI. The session was introduced by Angelo Viglianisi Ferraro and Paolo Cicciù, President of CSI Reggio Calabria.
Speakers included Edyta Figura-Góralczyk, Mamta Rathore, Karol Magoń, and Karol Ryszkowski, who shared reflections on the collaboration between CSI and the “Mediterranea” MICHR Research Centre, which has led to impactful solidarity initiatives in Poland and Reggio Calabria.
The conference highlighted how sport fosters passion, commitment, respect, and inclusion. As a universal language, it unites people, teaches the value of fair play, and demonstrates the power of collective progress.
Saturday 6 April – THE POINT OF EQUALITY
The initiative concluded at the PalaCSI with the international mixed volleyball tournament The Point of Equality. Athletes of diverse nationalities came together to affirm a crucial message: equality. The event, made possible through the collaboration of Arci Samarcanda and Mindoro Tamaraw Association, was a vibrant celebration of sport and community. Players from across Calabria shared the court, reinforcing values of integration and tolerance.
This extraordinary week of activities mobilised the entire Metropolitan Area of Reggio Calabria, which for one week became a vital space for promoting peace, development, and rights through sport.
Anchored in the strength of its streets, its communities, and a shared aspiration for justice, Reggio emerged as a place to revitalise the meaning of social cohesion. The initiative was supported by Médecins du Monde, Associazione Giovani Domani, and the Firefighters’ Sports Group of Reggio Calabria.