AMMAN, Jordan (May 2, 2025) - The first Sports day of the record-breaking 2025 Hope and Dreams Sports Festival concluded today with a special Opening Ceremony featuring an inspiring joint Taekwondo demonstration by children from the Azraq and Za’atari Refugee Camp.

 

Among those in attendance to witness the special ceremony were Dr. Chungwon Choue, President of World Taekwondo and Chairman of the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF); HRH Prince Rashid bin Hassan of Jordan, President of the Jordan Taekwondo Federation (JTF); World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fraccari; International University Sports Federation (FISU) President Leonz Eder; Gonzalo Barrio of the Olympic Refuge Foundation; Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Jordan, Pilwoo Kim; THF Board Members Claude Marshall (UNHCR), Richard Barnor and Maher Magableh along with other World Taekwondo Council Members and distinguished guests.

 

This year’s festival is the third to have taken place and features more refugees than ever before as it aims to empower refugees through sport.

 

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, President Choue said:

“To all our young athletes: enjoy this moment and enjoy yourselves. This is what sport is all about. 

 

“It is fantastic to see young athletes competing across five sports here at the third edition of this Hope and Dreams Sports Festival. The festival has grown a lot since we first launched it, and we are grateful for our strong partnership with our friends at Baseball5, Basketball 3x3, Badminton, Handball, and Weightlifting. ⁠Next year’s festival will coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation and we hope we will be able to bring at least 10 sports to you all. ⁠Harmony brings glory so I hope the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival can inspire you to become future champions.

 

Prince Rashid extended a warm welcome to all participating athletes and distinguished guests, expressing his sincere wishes for a successful and inspiring festival.

 

Ambassador Kim also addressed the participating athletes and wished them the best of luck. 

 

Special Hope and Dreams plaques were also presented during the day to distinguished guests, in recognition of their valuable support and continued commitment to empowering refugee youth through sport.

 

Earlier in the day, the refugee athletes engaged in competitions in Taekwondo and Badminton. Around three hundred athletes across five age categories – children, cadet, junior and senior – took part in Taekwondo.  

Meanwhile, around 80 young athletes took part in Badminton, a significant increase from last year when only 10 athletes took part. This growth reflects the dedicated coaching and development efforts that have taken place in the refugee camp over the past 12 months.

 

Badminton athletes have also received training in umpiring since last October in order to empower them to run the competition by themselves. As part of today's program, they also had the opportunity to compete against Jordan’s Under-15 National Badminton Team.
One of the young female badminton athletes shared: “Badminton is my life. I can’t imagine my life without Badminton now.”

A powerful testimony that captures just how much sport has come to mean to her — and to so many other children in the refugee camps — in just one year.

 

Competitions will continue tomorrow with Baseball5, Basketball 3x3 and Handball will make his debut as part of the festival.