Sport For All
10th World Sport for All Congress
Rome, Italy, 11 – 14 November 2004 |
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Approximately 1,200 participants from 112 countries, representing sports
organisations, governments at all levels, academic and community organisations,
and United Nations agencies attended the Congress, organised by the
Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), under the patronage of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), in cooperation with the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the General Association of International
Sports Federations (GAISF).
Declaration
The participants of this Congress, in accordance with its theme of
Sport for All as a tool for education and development urge
governments and relevant public and private sector sport, health, education
and environment organisations:
- to recognise that the need for Sport for All programmes, and to
deliver real actions – particularly through partnerships –
in, and for, communities across the world is now greater than ever
- to take into account, when developing and implementing sport and
recreation policies, the following major considerations:
Health
- lifestyle changes taking place around the world
- the fact that chronic diseases, particularly cardio-vascular
diseases and diabetes, are now overriding
infectious diseases as a cause
of illness and death
- the higher proportion of death by non-communicable diseases
in developing countries
- the increasing incidence of unhealthy and nutritionally inadequate
diets around the world, due to either a
lack of choice or the making
of wrong choices
- the disease burden and health costs of physical inactivity,
and global risk factors
- the adoption of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity
and Health by the World Health Assembly in May 2004 and the WHO
recommendation for Move for Health by member States
- the significant public health benefits of increased physical
activity and lifelong physical education programmes
Social benefits
- the social benefits of community sport and recreation, including
social cohesion and social skills, and increased sense of well-being
- the necessity to meet the particular needs of people with perceived
disabilities
Economic aspects
- the economic costs of poor public health and physical inactivity,
including increased administration and infrastructure costs
- the need for special, appropriate programmes and policies for
particular cultures and economies, particularly taking into account
the lack of resources and opportunities in developing countries
Environment
- the need for appropriate environmental policies and conditions,
and for adequate indoor and outdoor space, to maximise the safety of,
and opportunity for, community sport and recreation, and daily lifestyle
physical activity
- and, accordingly, to increase financial, administrative and policy
support and incentives for Sport for All and lifelong physical education
in order to maximise the benefits to the population, including the social
and economic development engendered by sport and recreation in the community.
Further, this Congress strongly reaffirms the Barcelona 1998 Sport
for All Congress declaration, calling upon all governments and voluntary
organisations:
- to establish and strengthen partnerships in support of physical
education
- to create an environment in which it is valued, and
- to implement actions to reverse the declining trend in physical
education, especially in schools
and expresses its concern at the lack of action
since the 1998 Congress in response to the Barcelona declaration, and
since the subsequent congresses in 2000 and 2002, particularly in regard
to the promotion and development of Sport for All policies.
This Congress also recognises that the Olympic
movement, in acknowledging the importance of Sport for All actions,
can play an important role in encouraging, supporting and promoting
sport and recreation programmes in the community.
The declaration by the United Nations of 2005 as
the International Year of Sport and Physical Education provides
an opportunity to all to make a real difference. This initiative challenges
the United Nations and all affiliated organisations to move to real action
and to focus on delivery of results.
Finally, the Congress notes that the next World
Sport for All Congress will be held in Havana, Cuba and will review
progress in the development of Sport for All policies and actions.

http://www.icsspe.org/portal/bulletin-january2005.htm
Sport For All
10th World Sport for All Congress
Rome, Italy, 11 – 14 November 2004
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