Training like no other! Hand’Joy offers work-study training programs equivalent to a bac +2, in collaboration with a sports business school. These programs aim to prepare young people for the challenges of the job market by providing them with skills in managing sports structures. In addition, it is labeled Inser’Sport and Equality for employment. Amina Tounkara, president and founder of the association, explains: “We are going to reach out to the public through the sports clubs that we know. The idea is to reach young people who no longer know where to fit in.”
Members of the Hand’Joy association and Convergence 93.
Lovely, a young woman who found her way thanks to Hand’Joy, says: “I did a vocational baccalaureate in commerce, but I got loste afterwards. Thanks to a friend, I discovered this training in sports management which allowed me to find myself again. His testimony clearly illustrates how Hand’Joy helps young people regain self-confidence and plan for the future.
An association is nothing without its volunteers! Nino Pujol, in charge of training at Hand’Joy, embodies the association’s spirit of solidarity. “I discovered the association on social media. It was love at first sight. Today, I am part of the board of directors.” Nino Pujol supervises the training of managers of sports structures, an initiative which offers young people a concrete opportunity to enter professionally in the sporting field.
Angela, a young 23-year-old volunteer, also shares this passion. A student at Sciences-Po, she is on a gap year to support Hand’Joy. “My role is to support Nino in all his tasks, whether it is for information or for other projects like the comic strip we are currently working on”she explains enthusiastically. This experience allows her to acquire valuable skills while contributing to a cause that is close to her heart.
Many collaborations
Amina Tounkara, founder of the Hand’Joy association.
Fatiha Berri, learning development project manager at Convergence 93, also supports Hand’Joy’s efforts. “Convergence 93 builds links between different stakeholders to develop apprenticeships in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. We are convinced that apprenticeships are one of the most effective ways for young people to find work.”
Hand’Joy benefits from the support of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, in particular through Impact 2024, a system which finances projects aimed at promoting social inclusion through sport. This support takes the form of various initiatives, such as the “Champions” program which is aimed at around fifteen young girls or this day dedicated to employment and sport for young people from the Local Mission. “We are creating a promotion of sports center manager classes in Seine-Saint-Denis taking into account the specific difficulties of this territory”says Amina, herself a goalkeeper in the Noisy-le-Grand Handball first team.
The future of Hand’Joy
The association has clear ambitions for the future. “One of our objectives is to become trainers ourselves and to have our own sports management school”, reveals Amina Tounkara. The year 2024 promises to be decisive for Hand’Joy with numerous programs in progress, including an all-female program and a comic strip to come.
Hand’Joy demonstrates that with passion and commitment, sport can be a powerful vector of inclusion and social transformation, offering young people in priority neighborhoods opportunities they would never have imagined.
Bastien Charret
Photos: ©Sylvain Hitau
