AMMAN, Jordan (Apr. 30, 2025) – The biggest Hope and Dreams Festival to date began with inspiring sport demonstrations at the Azraq and Za’atari Refugee Camps in Jordan.
From its origins as the Hope and Dreams Taekwondo Championships in 2022, the annual event has evolved into a multi-sport festival and empowered hundreds of refugee athletes through sport.
Now in its third edition, this year’s Hope and Dreams Sports Festival features more sports and more refugee athletes than ever before.
World Taekwondo President and Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) Chairman Dr. Chungwon Choue was joined by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fraccari, International University Sports Federation (FISU) President Leonz Eder, Gonzalo Barrio of the Olympic Refuge Foundation, and Maria Stavropoulou, UNHCR Representative to Jordan, among the VIP guests.
THF Board Member Claude Marshall (UNHCR refugee sport Coordinator), Richard Barnor (WT Taekwondo for All committee member), and Justin Hou (IOC Commission for Culture & Olympic Heritage) as well as THF Operations Director and WT Council member Maher Magableh were also in attendance on the first day of activities.
They were joined by World Taekwondo Council Members:
- Driss El-Hilali, President of the Moroccan Royal Taekwondo Federation
- Jinbang Yang, President of the Korea Taekwondo Association
- HH Sheikha Jameela Al Qasimi (UAE)
- Shaddad Alamri, President of the Saudi Taekwondo Federation
All were warmly welcomed to Azraq Camp.
Among other distinguished guests were Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Jordan Pilwoo Kim, and Kamaladdin Heydarov, President of the Azerbaijan Taekwondo Federation and Minister of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, Jaffer EBRAHIM, Badminton World Federation (BWF) Manager and Marco IENNA, WBSC Chief Operating Officer.
The group received a warm welcome at start of the day at the Azraq Camp, and witnessed spectacular demonstrations of Taekwondo, Baseball5, Basketball and Badminton from young athletes. The children were then presented with confectionary items by Mr. Ma Hongfan, founder and Chairman of Amos Food, followed by a group photo and time spent in groups with the refugee athletes.
The guests then visited the Za’atari Camp for a demonstration of Taekwondo, utilising the artificial grass donated by TaiShan Group mentioned last year’s Hope and Dreams Sports Festival.
The Za’atari activities also featured a Para Taekwondo Poomsae demonstration from refugee athletes.
President Choue reflected on the achievements of the THF since its foundation in September 2015.
“Whenever I come back to the refugee camps in Azraq and Za’atari, I feel like I have come home. We started from a simple dream to where we are now,” he said.
“Next year, we will celebrate 10 years of this dream, which is now a reality, of giving hope and dreams through sports. We are not only bringing sports to the camps but also building life values through participation in sports.
“Life is good when you are happy, but better if others have happiness because of you.”
WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari commented: “I was very happy to witness once again the beautiful atmosphere generated by this annual festival. The vibe has been incredible and I was also pleased to see that the baseball5 team has grown not only in terms of participation, but also in terms of skills. I look forward to seeing a even bigger impact in the coming years.”
FISU President Leonz Eder said: “It is a great honour to be here on behalf of the International University Sports Federation. It is an obligation for FISU to contribute in the future to this development, because the children are the future of all of us, and we have to do everything we can to make their lives easier.”
UNHCR representative and THF Board member Claude Marshall added: “The feeling I had in Azraq when I came five or six years ago was the same as now. I am totally impressed by these wonderful young people around me. They are living in not what you would call the ideal conditions and to be a refugee young person is not ideal, but they make the most of it. I hope for you a wonderful future.”
Sports competition during the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival will take place at Amman Sports City on May 2 and 3. It will feature Handball for the first time along with Taekwondo, Baseball5, Basketball and Badminton, while Weightlifting equipment will be donated to the refugee camps.
