I-PLAY kicks off in Donostia: 3 countries and more than 500 people at play
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I-PLAY launched on 12 and 13 March 2026 in Donostia/San Sebastián and Errenteria to bring traditional games back to classrooms, playgrounds and festivals.
Three countries, eighteen months and more than 500 people rediscovering the games their grandmothers played. I-PLAY got under way on 12 and 13 March 2026 in Donostia/San Sebastián and Errenteria with the support of the European Union's Erasmus+ Sport programme. The idea is simple: traditional games should stop being a memory and become, once again, a lesson, a playground and a neighbourhood festival.
Why a European project on the games of old
Before writing the first game sheet, we wanted to know where we were starting from. The comparative study we prepared across Spain, Türkiye and Poland left us with an uncomfortable conclusion: the problem is not that people fail to value their play heritage, but that traditional sports and games are not built into any system.
Not in schools, not in the training of those who teach, and not online. In Poland they are entirely absent from the national curriculum and survive only thanks to local initiatives. In Spain institutional recognition is far greater, especially in the Basque Country, where traditional sports are regulated and culturally rooted.
That recognition, however, does not translate into certified training. Türkiye has strong federations and cultural heritage recognised by UNESCO, and yet games remain marginal in the classroom.
On top of this loss of memory come three urgent issues that are no longer just cultural:
Youth inactivity. In Spain we live with high levels of childhood obesity and screen time far above recommended levels. In Poland only a limited share of young people meet WHO recommendations, and in Türkiye youth inactivity is the most critical of the three countries.
Participation gaps. Young women in Spain show markedly higher levels of inactivity, and migrants face economic, linguistic and social barriers. In Poland data on migration are lacking, and participation by people with disabilities is below the European average.
A digital void. There is no online learning ecosystem for these games: transmission is still oral, and web accessibility standards are not applied.
That is why we are working in an area of real need: almost no project combines play heritage, social inclusion, structured training and digital accessibility all at once.
Two days in Donostia: what we decided
On 12 and 13 March, eight people from the three partner organisations sat down together, with minutes, a signed attendance list, certificates and a shared working folder. We came away with concrete decisions, not just good intentions.
A platform that works like a classroom. We opted for a Moodle/Tutor LMS-style online campus, accompanied by a set of multilingual digital resources.
Four games per country, twelve in total. Each sheet covers historical and cultural context, step-by-step instructions, safety notes, learning outcomes and inclusive adaptations for people with disabilities, migrants and gender considerations.
Online workshops lasting an hour and a half. A short format, designed so that an educator can fit it into a real working day.
A fixed dissemination rhythm. We post on social media every two months and send a newsletter at each project milestone.
We also set the inclusion commitment we will hold ourselves to: at least 40% of participants from vulnerable groups, including women, migrants and people with disabilities.
Who we are
ABARKA ONGD (Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa) coordinates the project and hosts the digital platform. It works on cooperation, youth and inclusion from the ground up, and counts the municipal sports departments of Oiartzun and Errenteria as associated organisations.
BIGA GELİŞİM SPOR KULÜBÜ (Biga, Çanakkale, Türkiye) leads the training strand and will host the training of trainers. It brings its experience as a grassroots club and the backing of the Turkish federation ecosystem.
STOWARZYSZENIE SEDA (Kraków, Poland) is responsible for evaluation, quality and communication. It consolidated the European comparative study on which everything else is built.
The visit to Kroma (Errenteria): play beyond the classroom
On 13 March we took the project to Kroma, in Errenteria, and filmed our first videos there. The conversation was very practical: how to adapt an activity on the fly when a group changes in size, age or language.
That visit produced a clear local partnership. Kroma is supporting us with flexible activity design and with the community sports days we will organise in Spain, so that the twelve games do not stay stuck on a screen.
It is exactly the kind of partnership the study identified as missing: a local venue and a crafts and social education association agreeing on a shared framework for cooperation. We want to repeat that pattern in Çanakkale and in Kraków, and along the way train more than 100 educators, youth workers and coaches.
What you can do now
A game only survives if someone plays it again. That is the idea we took home from Donostia: documenting is not enough; these games have to go back to playgrounds and town squares, with adapted rules so that nobody is left watching from the bench.
The project platform is already online at i-play.abarka.org, with its training space and its games library under construction. Take a look and follow us on our social media so you don't miss the workshops.