Find a common language with “We Will Roll You”!

On November 10, 2024, children and young people from different countries, with and without disabilities, had the ultimate opportunity to try wheelchair basketball and discover it as a method for equitable and motivating collaboration.

“Find a common language with We Will Roll You” was aimed at refugee children and adolescents aged 10 and older who had to find a new home in Munich due to unrest, war, or displacement.

The wheelchair basketball project We will roll you introduced these young people to new perspectives, offering them motivation and a chance to feel like a team, even without the need for a shared language or cultural background, while experiencing equality and inclusion.

During the workshop, participants not only learned the basics of wheelchair basketball but also discovered the importance of nonverbal and intuitive communication in the sport. Special emphasis was placed on training and game elements that highlight teamwork and cooperation, such as warm-up exercises, various passing drills, or wheelchair obstacle courses in teams.

In this way, participants were subtly sensitized to inclusion and the equality of all people by experiencing firsthand that differing abilities are not barriers but rather that shared sports can overcome them.

Each workshop session concluded with a joint game, which not only brought the children and young people great joy but also strengthened their sense of self-efficacy through successfully applying what they had learned.

“Our young participants especially enjoyed competing against each other in teams, where they could put the exercises they learned earlier into practice,” summarized one group leader. “The Iguanas’ trainers explained and demonstrated everything about the sport wonderfully,” praised one young participant.

The We will roll you project is a longstanding initiative by High Art Bureau. Since 2018, we have supported the sports club RBB München e.V. in this extraordinary project focused on inclusion. From fundraising to PR and project management consulting: we advocate for social issues and are proud to contribute to such an important project!

Since 2022, as part of this inclusive project, refugee children and young people have also been supported in finding their way in their new environment and making new friends.

Wheelchair basketball is the only sport where people with and without disabilities can compete against each other on equal terms. A wheelchair is not a barrier but a unique sports device. However, this is not the only reason why this sport is even an Olympic discipline. Another special feature of wheelchair basketball is that no language skills are required, as almost everything is communicated through nonverbal interaction and intuition.

 

The project was supported by Stiftung Soziales München of Stadtsparkasse München.