11. Bruno Contreras (Mexico & USA) - How can sport promote social inclusion for newcomers?

Inspira | Erika Mueller Chen

Erika speaks to Bruno about his experience moving from Mexico to the USA, and how Soccer Without Borders creates a sense of belonging for newcomers and refugees.

Bruno Contreras came to Boston from Mexico City in 2016, arriving with beginner English skills and a wealth of experience building youth development programs for youth through soccer. Joining Soccer Without Borders right away, he quickly became entrenched in the SWB community in Boston. In 2020, he was named Director, and has since overseen the program's expansion in the Greater Boston and Springfield areas.

In his own words, "There is a concept in geography called 'non-place' which means transitory places where social actions cannot take place. Before immigrants got here to this country, many of them were in transitory non-places such as roads, shelters, deserts, airports. My goal as Director of SWB Massachusetts is to ensure that the program serves as a clear transition from such non-places to a community that feels like home.”

Bruno’s LinkedIn

Erika’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/erikamchen

Resources:

1. Soccer Without Borders
2. SWB Twitter, SWB Boston Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn
3. SWB Mission, Culture, Mantras
4. SWB Supporting Newcomer Afghan Youth Workshops
5. SWB Assist
6. SWB Switch the Pitch
7. SWB Global Goal 5 Accelerator
8. AmeriCorps Vista
9. US State Department Sports Diplomacy

Episode Info:

• Episode recording date: December 9, 2022.
• See Erika’s LinkTree for episode transcript.
• “The Podcast Intro” by “Music_Unlimited” was retrieved from Pixabay. Licensor's Username and Licensee Username - erika_mueller.

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed by the Guests of the Inspira Podcast do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of any Agency of the United States Government, or any organization public or private.