December 23, 2010 – The Romanian Basketball Federation together with Policy Center for Roma and Minorities organized the 3rd International FIBA Minibasketball Tournament under the logo “Love basketball! No racism! No violence!“. The tournament (21st – 23rd of December) was part of “REACT! Make Europe an equal place for Roma” campaign and was done in partnership with The National Authority for Sport and Youth.
Six national teams – Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Hungary and a team made out of players from Bucharest – over 150 children in total- were part of the competition reserved to young players of ages between 12 and 14 years old. More than 1000 people cheered their favorites and prizes were awarded by Virgil Stănescu, the most recognizable Romanian basketball player- captain of the Romanian National Basketball Team.
Alongside the above mentioned teams, the tournament included teams of young people suffering from Down syndrome.
Sports has nothing to do with racism nor with violence – ”Love sport, be active and responsible citizens get involved in stopping racism and violence in our societies” was the message promoted by The Romanian Basketball Federation, Policy Center for Roma and Minorities ,The National Authority for Sport and Youth and The European Commission at this tournament. Policy Center targets popular sports through the campaign “ REACT! Make Europe an equal place for Roma” in order to promote a message of responsible citizenship.
