Game with Mum & Dad

GWMD event at Tarnów-Mościce Prison (Poland), 11 July 2026

“I would like it to happen more often. I really enjoyed hugging my grandfather. Normally we just look at him and talk, separately.” — child, Portugal, 9 years old

Context

As outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), all children have the fundamental right to maintain contact with their family (Article 9).  Article 3 underscores that the child’s best interests should be a primary consideration in all actions concerning them. Upholding these rights is crucial for supporting the emotional and psychological well-being of children with an imprisoned parent, as it fosters resilience and preserves family bonds.

Children’s rights lay at the heart of the Game with Mum & Dad project. This year, COPE invites its members participants to join the third edition of ‘Game with Mum & Dad’, the first international football campaign for children with a parent in prison. It is founded on the COPE network’s shared values of child safeguarding, child participation, non-discrimination and gender equality.

This initiative, consisting of sports games held on prison grounds between children and their imprisoned parents, was first pioneered by COPE member Bambinisenzasbarre in Italy and has since been carried out by 12 further partners across a total of 11 countries:

  • Aangan Trust (India)
  • lternative Sociale (Romania)
  • CASPAE (Portugal)
  • Czech Republic Prison Fellowship (Czechia)
  • Exodus (The Netherlands)
  • Families Outside (Scotland, UK)
  • Generalitat de Catalunya, Department of Justice (Spain)
  • Hoppenbank e.V (Germany)
  • PACT (England, UK)
  • Probacja (Poland)
  • Projecte Nius (Spain)
  • Relais Enfants Parents Romands (Switzerland)
  • Relais Enfants Parents (France)

Why Does It Matter?

This awareness-raising campaign goes beyond hosting one-off events that offer families a temporary moment of connection. In addition to this, it aims to change how prisons are perceived, to break down barriers, to humanise the prison environment and embed the perspective of children with imprisoned parents within pentientiary systems. It seeks to boost momentum on the national and international level among decision-makers.

In the short term, these sport games—often football, sometimes other sports— provide opportunities for children to enjoy shared family moments in a less restrictive context. They help destigmatise imprisonment through shared moments of fun with peers, parents and caregivers while increasing awareness among prison staff about the benefits of strengthening family bonds.

In the long term, the campaign will serve as leverage for greater advocacy at the European and international level, urging decision-makers to consider and implement the systemic change required to meet the needs of children with an imprisoned parent. With this campaign, we hope to inspire key actors to become champions for change — to recognise their own roles and responsibilities in advancing children’s rights to maintain contact with a parent in prison. We hope it will generate an overall increased awareness of the potential impact of parental imprisonment on children and how prison services can play a part in strengthening the all important child-parent bond. 

The campaign will be an opportunity to foster greater trust and to strengthen partnerships between COPE members and prison services, ministries of justice, and other entities. Ultimately, the campaign aims to dismantle the notion of prison as merely a place of confinement, encouraging an understanding of prison as a place of inclusion.

News from the field

15 families reunite at Tarnów-Mościce Prison for Game With Mum & Dad

The second Polish event of this year’s Game With Mum & Dad programme welcomed 15 families for a day designed to strengthen the bond between children and imprisoned parents.

Poland, 11 July 2026

The impact of Game with Mum & Dad in Bremen

The Bremen GWMD event showed how family-focused activities can create moments of connection that are often difficult to achieve within a prison environment.

Germany, 26 June 2026

The first family-focused initiative at Bremerhaven prison

In Bremerhaven, GWMD marked the first family-focused initiative of its kind to take place at the Correctional Facility. The event was made possible through the work of Hoppenbank e.V., the local NGO implementing the project on behalf of COPE.

Germany, 25 June 2026

A different kind of World Cup match

After the start of its third edition on 30 May in Rapotice, the project continued in Czechia with an event at Kuřim Prison. 

Czech Republic, 6 June 2026

More news here.

Get Involved!

Want to make a difference? Join us in the ‘Game with Mum & Dad’ campaign! Learn more by visiting the project’s website or emailing us at contact[@]gamewithmum-dad[.]eu.

Creating long-lasting change takes time. Donating to Game with Mum & Dad will help ensure the campaign’s sustainability, allowing COPE and partners to continue effecting real and lasting change for children with a parent in prison. If you wish to donate to this project, please do so here.