|  | Member's News | No.55 January 2009 |
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The Willibald Gebhardt Research Institute |
The “Healthy Children in Sound Communities” (HCSC) intervention project for active living started in 12 local communities in the Netherlands and Germany. After a one year pilot study (2007/8) at the German community of Velen, the main HSCS prevention study has just been awarded by the Euregio Rhein Waal as a cross-border INTER-REG IV project with financial support of the EU from 2008 to 2011. The concept of the HCSC project was previously endorsed and recommended by the EU working group on “Sport and Health” at Brussels. The local community project for school children aged 4 to 12 follows the new guidelines of the EU for the promotion of physical activity with a multi-sector settings approach (family, schools, sport clubs, youth and health offices of the communities). The HCSC project seeks to promote active living on a curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular level inside and outside primary schools. The main partners of the project are represented by German and Dutch sport authorities (LandesSportBund NRW, Geldersche Sportfedratie, Sport Support Noord Braband, Europäische Akademie des Sports, Velen), private sponsors e.g. Unfallkasse NRW, Betriebskrankenkasse NRW as well as by ministries of North Rhine Westfalia and provincial governments in the Netherlands. The Willibald Gebhardt Research Institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen has become the lead partner for the Euregio Rhein Waal to implement and evaluate the cross-border project together with their Dutch and German partners. Six communities in Germany and the Netherlands are working together in a network. The activities are concentrated on a wide scale of intervention and accompanying measures in the field of practical and scientific services in order to avoid obesity and overweight and to help children to enjoy a “healthy lifestyle”. The project “Healthy Children in Sound Communities” will promote cooperation between the municipalities and the organised sporting groups and establish basic field networks. The financial value of this project is €1,9 million. http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 The Willibald Gebhardt Research Institute