The London 2012 Olympics and the Albanian community

Shpresa

Shpresa Programme is an organisation which works to support the Albanian community in London.

During the London 2012 Olympics, it helped to secure jobs for the Albanian community and a commitment from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and pay all workers at the Games the London Living Wage. 

The 2012 Olympics was a great opportunity for Shpresa Programme to showcase the talent and potential of the Albanian community in the UK and show that they were an active and positive force in the country, able to contribute to its success.

Albanians in Newham

Newham’s Albanian community contributed to the development of the 2012 Olympics were involved in the construction of Olympic venues, and provided catering and security services for the Games. In addition, they helped to promote the Olympics through taking part in cultural events and supporting overseas athletes competing in the Games. 

Our volunteers exploring the Olympic Park – ©Nafjola V

Introduction

The London 2012 Olympics in Newham brought communities together.

For our project, ‘We Played Our Part’, we explored the untold stories and experiences of the Albanian community during the London 2012 Olympics.

‘We Played Our Part’ was developed by young Albanian leaders who researched and explored how their community became involved in the greatest sporting event on earth through collaboration with partner organisations.

A team of young people namely: Kevin, Isabelle G-R, Emily  D, Jason-Arber R, Daniel N, Rebeca M, Nafjola V, Arlidio D and Adriana M researched memories and recorded one-to-one interviews, producing in-depth insights into what the Olympic legacy was for the Albanian community.

The early stages of planning project delivery – © Isabelle G-R

Initial stages

During the initial stages of the project, ten young people and five adults from the Albanian community received training to develop their project.

This included:

• Brainstorming and exploration – we discussed what we wanted to include in the project and what we wanted to showcase in the films
• Finalising key subjects of the ‘We Played Our Part” project with a particular focus on employment, housing, sport and recreation
  
• Deciding on the topics from before, during and after the London Olympic 2012

Training

In preparation  of the project, the group attended several training sessions which included:

• website and publicity training
• oral history training, 
• interviewing and photography training 
• videography training

Once the background research and the questionnaires had been completed, we were excited to conduct the interviews with members of the Albanian community and partners who had worked with us during the Olympics. Interview topics focused on employment, housing and sports & recreation.

Some of the interviews can be watched below: