exhibition
Concept (english version)

Different Roots - One Game

Migration and Ethnic Minorities in European Football

Background

Migration has always existed, not only in society, but also in football. For instance Inter Milan was called "Internationale" because in 1912 only three players out of 18 were Italians.

People who move to a new area discover a new perspective. This can bring positive opportunities, but also difficulties associated with living in a foreign country.

For migrant youth, in particular, football is an important factor in their integration in society. By playing football, migrants are able to express their way of life on a simple level and meet other people: football can offer relief from the stresses of everyday life and help to build bridges.

Yet daily life often has different rules, and this applies in particular to lower league football. In some EU countries, such as Austria or Italy, the national football associations impose strict quotas on the number of non-EU citizens allowed to play per amateur team. Even in countries where third-country nationals have unrestricted access to amateur football, they are very often faced with a range of prejudices, including the notion that they are overly aggressive and determined when they play, as is the case for Turkish, North African and ex-Yugoslavian teams, or that their "race" is not suited to playing competitive football, as is the case with Asians in the UK. Local league matches between "native" teams and migrant teams sometimes take on an element of national competition, with both sides translating personal identification and social attitudes to the pitch.

Nevertheless, many migrants join "native" football clubs, a strategy that is often successful for both the club and the individual migrant. But how are they integrated there as players, coaches and fans? What are their experiences and wishes?

Objectives and content

A touring exhibition with information tools and a fringe event system - opening in march 2006 in Hamburg - will be the final point of a research on migration and ethnic minorities in European Football. Its production process will be accompanied by an event programme to give the research the colours of a campaign, to get the topic into public minds and prepare the vernissage for the public. Moreover, the period between november and june 2005 is important to develop contacts and cooperation with football clubs and football associations and for a basis of an successful exhibition with participation of migrants. While doing interviews, collecting experiences, views and wishes migrants and the stakeholders of football could also be advised how to be a part of the "Different Roots - One Game". This means to create an archive of good practising and future ideas not only to integrate migrants but also to help to create a positive image of football clubs.

A bilingual (English and German) touring exhibition, "Different Roots - One Game", which will be accompanied by a programme of fringe events, looks at these ideas and questions from a transnational approach and dimension. The exhibition will establish several links to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The World Cup, an event of unprecedented global dimension, will permit the development of not just a European, but also a true international focus on the issue of immigration and football and will offer an ideal platform for disseminating the results to a wider audience.

The exhibition and the fringe events (panel discusions, lectures, talk evenings, workshops, concerts or friendly football matches) show and reflects migration and the multicultural development of Europe through the mirror of football. It presents and discusses the integrative opportunities of football and its offers of identification. The exhibition also provides information on migration and integration in professional football. But it also looks at migrants and asylum seekers who play football or organise their own teams in their spare time. The task is also to draw comparisons with female migrants.

The presentation of football biographies will make the public more aware of the situation of their migrant neighbours. This could make people more sensitive to their problems, reduce prejudice and lead to different, more open attitudes. The exhibition delivers mediation of intercultural life.

Moreover, "Different Roots - One Game" events will send out strong signals against racism and discrimination. Perspectives will be opened up as to what can be done against prejudice and discrimination against migrants in order to support social integration.

Migrants not only play football, they are also football fans. The exhibition therefore aims to look at the extent to which migrants are integrated in local fan cultures and how this process can be improved.

The exhibition and the fringe events will demonstrate that cultural diversity can lead to improvements in social daily life. However, it will also consider the everyday problems of living and playing football together, including the multi-ethnic conflicts which can arise symbolically during a football match. Football can and will be used as a role model for acceptance, respect and tolerance. The exhibition offers a temporary forum to communicate this and develop dialogues with and in civil society, making a valuable contribution to public debate on a European level. The exhibition will therefore raise awareness for the challenges of integration, disseminate information, advocate policy changes, outline successful methods of integration and propose ways towards solutions, especially from the point of view of the migrant.

Furthermore, "Different Roots - One Game" will highlight information on the distinctive cultural, political and social characteristics of the countries the migrants come from in comparison with the situation in the European Union and its fundamental values. Cultural and religious diversity, participation in citizenship, and political rights play a major role here.

For institutions and projects working on this issue the exhibition offers an opportunity to highlight their own daily work. The exhibition will therefore seek out and evaluate good practice in the field of integration with the aim of spreading knowledge and encouraging other groups to follow up.

The dissemination of parts of the exhibition (such as photos, text, audio files, animations etc.) via the FARE website will make it accessible for a large audience. This will also contribute to the initiation of other migrant projects with different approaches to integration, encouraging and supporting transactional learning and cooperation.

The production of the exhibition will be accompanied by the Floodlight jury which will be founded by the presidents of Floodlight, the two project managers, Piara Powar and Kurt Wachter from FARE.

Target groups

Young people (aged 12 and over) of both migrant and non-migrant origin, especially school students and football teams from all levels; football fans of professional and amateur clubs; stakeholders of football clubs and associations; stakeholders in institutions working in the field, especially migrant associations; people or projects working or seeking to work in the field of integration; students; academics; politicians from the field of integration from a local to an international level; journalists from the daily press and also those with an interest in in-depth articles.

Methods

The exhibition will combine social-historical aspects with artistic expression. Movable boards with text, photos and graphics will present the situation. This will be underlined by photographic or multimedia installations (film materials, computer presentations, light projections, etc.). Artists will be asked for ideas on how to express migration and football in an artistic way (paintings, collages, sculptures, etc.). The various sections will be divided by poster partitions include a symbolic representation and the title of the theme under consideration, lending the exhibition a clear structure and serving as a guide to visitors.

The interviews with professional and amateur migrant footballers will include not only individual questions but also a standard catalogue of questions to permit the expression of possible differences. Another part of the exhibition will feature portraits of migrant teams in various surroundings or on various league levels. This will include historical questions and also highlight their personal feelings and experiences. The interviews and portraits will be available in audio form and supported by computer or film presentations. In addition, the persons interviewed will be asked to contribute mementos from their lives as footballers.

The patrons will be invited to the opening ceremony to talk on migration in football and their reasons for becoming involved in the project. A programme of fringe events will be organised at each venue, creating a platform for lessons learned and the transfer and application of good practice and strengthening transnational exchange and partnerships between stakeholders at all levels. To give migrant groups and projects the opportunity to use the exhibition to present their work they will be involved in the local fringe events. They will also be requested to create their own material when "Different Roots - One Game" is in their area.

Patron

- Anthony Baffoe (former captain of Ghana, former player in Germany, France, Hong Kong and Venezuela, first black German TV sports reporter)