International Olympic Truce Centre
Kick-off meeting (on-line), Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2020
Within the framework of the ERASMUS + European Projects, EquiSEquilibriSostenible, a non-profit association based in Barcelona and a member of Barcelona + Sostenible, is the coordinator of the Let’s warm up the climate for sport project (www.equilibrisostenible.eu/projects.html). On September 12th and 13th, 2020, is being held on-line its kick-off meeting welcoming participants from the following European organizations: Darko Athletics Team (Bulgaria), International Olimpic Truce Center (Greece) and the UniversitateaDunarea de Jos Din Galati (Romania). This meeting was originally scheduled for March 2020 in Barcelona (Spain), however, the COVID-19 outbreak and the confinements and travel restrictions decreed from that date, led to its postponement until its virtual celebration on the indicated dates.
The Let’s warm up the climate for sport project arises from the conviction that the values incorporated in the effort to preserve natural and environmental sustainability, ecosystems and resources, can help develop new skills that benefit all those professionals involved in physical activity and sports practice in different dimensions, especially with regard to promoting the participation of inactive people, in a new conceptual framework of “menssana in corpore sana, in natura sana” (healthy mind in healthy body in healthy environments).
Environmental sustainability has proven to be capable of emotionally involving people, resonant with their inner dimension, inciting reflection and action, both globally and locally, to transform the agenda and lifestyles of communities, groups and individuals, with positive impacts on society in general. In this way, the transformative potential of these values can be directed to conceive and design innovative strategies to motivate people to be more physically active.
The project will identify and exchange good practices that help redefine people’s well-being as a multidimensional holistic combination of physical and mental well-being and a healthy and inspiring environment. These new skills are expected to benefit sports and physical activity leaders and professionals at the local, regional or national level (coaches, managers, administrative staff, public officials, to name a few).
The on-line kick-off meeting has been an opportunity to contextualize and learn about the environments in which the participating organizations carry out their activity, facilitating the creation of a collaborative spirit and a common cultural framework. Project activities have been planned and work has begun on the objectives and methodology of the project.
As the first initiative derived from this meeting, the participation of the project organizations has emerged in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the Global Goals Week (September 18-26). The main SDGs of each organization have been identified and published on social media. Also, as a positive environmental aspect of the virtual meeting, it’s being worth highlighting the decrease in the project’s environmental footprint. The next two transnational meetings of the project are planned in Sofia (Bulgaria) and in Athens (Greece), while a final pilot event will take place in Barcelona (Spain) in September 2021 as a synthesis of the activities and results of the project.
Project Let’s warm up the climate for sport (WARM-UP)
Project coordinator: EquiS – EquilibriSostenible
