Field of Dreams

"Through the power of music and soccer we want to demonstrate how programs like Football United help refugee youth integrate into Australian society. Mr. Elkington has created a new life and is inspiring others to do the same."

Football United, an Australian programme uniting young people, particularly refugees, around football (also known as soccer) team and skill development, uses media to draw attention and support to its work. After viewing a documentary, Passport to Hope, made on its programme (trailers available by clicking here), singer/songwriter Brian Elkington approached Football United with an idea to write a song to celebrate youth uniting through football (see the video below).
 
According to Founding Director Anne Bunde-Birouste, the objectives are multiple:

"- Produce another media attractive element that can share to the world what we do, in a way that is expressive and inspiring

- We hope that this becomes a symbol for the program, our objectives, and inspires racial harmony, social inclusion, supporting and empowering youth

- We also hope that this would be taken up by others, sung, even perhaps others making their own videos to share their programs with the song

- And of course, since funding is so very challenging to come by we have that wish that there would be people, organisations capable of providing support for what we do who would see it and want to come to our aid.

- Lastly any production of this sort that we do is done WITH our youth from various programs and as such it is a wonderful training opportunity for them - this was the idea behind the digital connections project..."

Football United uses football to foster social cohesion within areas of high refugee settlement through leadership, skills development, mentoring, and the creation of links with a range of local community leaders and organisations. Football United was conceived as a health promotion/social change intervention run by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Developed through a participatory community building health promotion methodology, it has expanded from a number of small-scale activities (camps, weekly community programmes) to include school programmes, Saturday morning programmes, camps, large-scale tournaments, personal development programmes, and opportunities to represent Football United on a global scale. Programmes include: coach training; youth leadership training; the Digital Connections project to equip and train youth leaders to help Football United participants share their stories and engage with the wider community through digital media; the Strong Women, Strong World programme to engage female participants across Sydney through football; and plans in 2012 for a national project "Playing for Change" to deliver inclusion, health, educational, and social benefits to youth and families.