June 6, 2025

The Hope and Dreams Sports Festival – for empowering refugees and displaced people through sport, and uniting global sports organisations to deliver impactful humanitarian initiatives 

No.12: May 2025
Guest author: Dr Chungwon Choue  

Dr Chungwon Choue is the President of World Taekwondo. Since his election as President in 2004, he has overseen a period of unprecedented growth and modernisation, making the sport fairer, more accessible and more transparent. In doing so, he helped to establish Taekwondo as one of the most popular sports on the programme of the Olympic Games.

A key priority of Dr Choue’s presidency has been harnessing the power of Taekwondo to promote peace and social development. Under his leadership, World Taekwondo has led the way in providing humanitarian assistance to refugees and displaced people worldwide through Taekwondo. On 21 September 2015, the International Day of Peace, President Choue announced plans to establish the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Officially launched in April 2016, the THF currently manages projects in six refugee camps on four continents and reaches more than 1,500 refugees annually, offering them the chance to improve their quality of life through Taekwondo.

In November 2023, the THF was awarded the International Olympic Committee’s prestigious Olympic Cup in recognition of its long-term commitment to supporting refugee athletes. As Chairman of the THF, President Choue is determined to work closely with other organisations to create a better world through sport. He called on other Olympic and non-Olympic sports to join the cause, culminating in the creation of the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival, which features various sports for young people in refugee camps in Jordan.

The THF recently organised the 3rd Hope and Dreams Sports Festival in Jordan, featuring more sports and participation from more refugee athletes than ever before. For empowering refugees and displaced people through sport, and uniting global sports organisations to deliver impactful humanitarian initiatives, the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival is JTA Communicator of the Month.

As Chairman of the THF, I am honoured to celebrate the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival as JTA Communicator of the Month for May 2025 – the latest milestone in our proud history.

When I announced that we will create the THF at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 21 September 2015, we started from a simple but powerful idea: peace is more precious than triumph. This principle was inspired by my late father, Dr Youngseek Choue. He was first to suggest the idea of an International Day of Peace at the time when he headed the International Association of University Presidents General Assembly, and this was established by a unanimous United Nations resolution on 21 September 1981.

Sport should play a leading role in empowering those who need it most. Unfortunately, an increasing number of humanitarian crises means that 10 years on from its formation, more than 120 million people have been forcibly displaced around the world and the work of the THF is needed more than ever.

The THF has reached 14,000 refugees since its creation, and currently operates projects in six refugee camps across four continents. There have been multiple success stories, including the project at the refugee camp of Azraq in Jordan, which has produced more than 100 black belt young refugee athletes. Yahya Al Ghotany trained at the THF’s Humanitarian Sports Centre in the Azraq camp after fleeing from Syria, and he was one of five Taekwondo athletes – and the first directly from a refugee camp – who featured in the Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris.

One of the initiatives that the THF is most proud of is the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival, and the third edition of this inspiring multi-sport showcase of young refugee athletes’ talents took place in Jordan from 30 April – 3 May. This reminded us of the purpose that sport provides to young people.

The origins of the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival date back to 2022, when we organised the Hope and Dreams Taekwondo Championships in Jordan for young refugee athletes. This evolved into the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival with the valuable support of our partners from other international federations who share our mission to offer opportunities for all to practise sport, regardless of their background.

Sport can transform lives, and this is not just about Taekwondo. The first two editions of the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival in 2023 and 2024 provided hundreds of refugee athletes with the chance to benefit from the power of sport. We are grateful for the support of our friends from the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) who have been with us since the beginning of the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival, and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) who joined us last year.

I was especially touched by one of the young badminton athletes who participated at the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival:

“Badminton is my life. I can’t imagine my life without badminton now,” she shared.

This year, the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival was elevated to new heights. The THF has always been clear on our mission to work with as many sports organisations as possible, and we believe this collaborative approach is vital to ensure sport inspires refugees, heralds positive social development and makes the greatest contribution to human society.

This was realised this year at the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival when it delivered the biggest and best edition so far. In addition to the ongoing support of the WBSC and BWF, we were delighted to work with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the International Handball Federation (IHF) and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on delivering the Festival for the benefit of refugees.

We also invited representatives from the UNHCR and Leonz Eder, President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), who offered his full support for the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival as an initiative that supports young people living in refugee camps.

It was a joy to witness hundreds of refugees from diverse backgrounds, who have all faced unimaginable challenges in their lives, enjoying Taekwondo activities at the refugee camps of Azraq and Za’atari, and thriving in the sports competition at Amman’s Sports City. Equally as inspiring was seeing young athletes embrace Baseball5, badminton, 3×3 basketball and handball. This served as a compelling demonstration of the power of sport to unite communities, and truly lived up to the name of the Festival by sending a clear message on the role of sports organisations in providing refugees and displaced people with hope and dreams.

In total, there were nearly 1,250 participants at the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival. Their resilience is truly remarkable, and the Festival has strengthened the THF’s determination to build on its pioneering role within the Olympic Movement to advance humanitarian activities. As we approach the THF’s 10th anniversary, for next year’s Hope and Dreams Sports Festival we want to celebrate by having more than 10 international federations join us for the activities. Furthermore, I envision the expansion of the Festival to other countries and continents in the years to come.

The recent Hope and Dreams Sports Festival was another timely reminder that sport has a unique ability to shape young people’s lives and unite communities. It proved that when sports organisations work together, we can amplify our impact on those who need it most and strengthen the message we are delivering to the world.

For this reason, I am committed to the THF, not just for Taekwondo, but as a sports coalition for refugees and displaced persons with international sports federations.

Besides the THF, World Taekwondo also delivers the World Taekwondo (WT) Cares programme. Since 2016, the WT Cares programme has focused on helping orphans and juvenile children off the streets and into schools, as well as assisting reformatory women to assimilate into society.

Harmony brings glory and, with it, I believe that sport can bring peace to the world. This is the role that sport can, and must, do for society.

Picture credit: World Taekwondo