Bridging the Gap in Physical Activity

Taking inspiration from the Designed to Move international campaign, which was co-authored by Nike, ICSSPE and the American College of Sports Medicine, the PASS project aimed to shed new light on the state of physical activity in Europe.

ICSSPE led the research aspect of this initiative, with the support of 6 major European players (EUPEA, FESI, ISCA, Spolint Institute and TAFISA), all working under the leadership of Sport and Citizenship. PASS was funded by a European Union ERASMUS+ grant. This 3-year project ended in December 2017 with a final Conference in Brussels.

Attracting politicians, policy makers, research and practitioners, this closing event offered an opportunity for PASS partners to share the lessons they have learned during the project.

The session began with welcoming comments from Sport and Citizenship, in which great emphasis was placed on the close partnership that had developed between the different agencies, and the importance of the project for physical activity in cities and municipalities in Europe.

Then ICSSPE’s Richard Bailey gave the opening presentation, summarising the results of the PASS research, and exploring ways in which the partners, and the wider European sporting community, can build policy from evidence. He suggested that one of the most important insights learned during the last three years of the project was the great untapped potential of cities and municipalities for supporting settings for the promotion of physical activity. These settings – families, schools, sports clubs, cities streets, and work-places – offer the greatest leverage for bringing about changes in lifestyles, and are the most effective contexts for focused support. Richard Bailey also suggested that there are some populations that deserve particular attention from policy-makers and practitioners, such as children during the first ten years of life, and women.

This was followed by short presentations from the International Sport and Culture Association, The Associations For International Sport For All, the European Physical Education Association, and the Federation of European Sporting Goods Industries. The meeting was brought to a close by Maria Luisa Fernandez Esteban, Deputy Head of the Sport Unit in the European Commission.

For more information please go to the PASS Project website.