The German Presidency of the Council of the European Union hosted an online conference marking the European Week of Sport on Thursday, September 24, in which the European University Sports Association also participated.

The Conference, titled “Partnerships for Physical Activity and Sport – Be(come) Active!”, was a continuation from the previous day’s official opening of the European Week of Sport, hosted this year in Frankfurt, Germany.

Thursday’s proceedings began with opening addresses from Mr Stephan Mayer, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Minister of the Interior, as well as Ms Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.



Thereafter, Ms Petra Wagner from Leipzig University discussed Implications for reaching out to target groups and sustainable behaviour change before Mr Jorn Wemmenhove from Humankind - Agency for Urban Change spoke about planning and making cities for people.



Participants were then divided into parallel sessions, one which discussed stakeholders and the sport community through cooperation for a healthier society and the other which discussed city networks and partnerships. Good practise examples were shared by presenters across Europe, with smaller breakout sessions allowing participants to ask questions and engage with the speakers in more detail.



After recapping the morning session, the second half of the day saw Mr Andreas Klages from the State Sport Confederation of Hessen and Ms Pia Pauly from the German Gymnastics Federation discuss models and experiences in the field of "Health Enhancing Physical Activity" in Germany before Ms Sylvia Titze from the University of Graz spoke about the responsibilities, networking and knowledge needed in the promotion of an active lifestyle.



The online conference concluded with Mr Yves Le Lostecque, Head of the Sport Unit at the European Commission, giving an update on European Commission’s activities and opportunities before the moderators brought the online conference to a close.



There are still a number European Week of Sport activities to look forward to in various countries across the continent, with several unique events taking place to unite participants from across Europe to promote healthy living and active lifestyles.



To view all this year’s European Week of Sport activities, please visit ec.europa.eu/sport/week_en.