“Let’s Warm-Up the Climate for Sport”
WARM-UP Collaborative Partnership is convinced that the values embedded in the effort to preserve natural and environmental sustainability, ecosystems and resources, to the benefit also of future generations, have been able to involve people emotionally, resonate with their inner dimension, have been able to spark reflection and, as a consequence, take actions to transform individual behaviors with relevant and positive impacts on groups, communities and society at large. Similarly, the transformative potential of such values can be directed to conceive and design innovative strategies to motivate people to be more physically active.
Philosophy
Sport, as a global industry, has become more and more aware of its social responsibility to reduce its carbon footprint and raise awareness of environmental sustainability. Such awareness has encouraged a lot of different actors of the global sport industry to implement a set of different initiatives. As a matter of fact, currently the sport industry recognized the impact it has on the natural environment and developed strategies to address relevant issues, triggering two different effects: reducing the ecological footprint and using sports as a means to raise environmental awareness. While a lot of success stories exist of sport-related organizations who are proactively addressing the negative environmental impact of their operations, the use of sports as a vehicle to raise environmental awareness, appears as not having great impacts presently and therefore this trends, to expand and implement current environmental initiatives, as well as the focus on the environment in sport should be encouraged, especially favoring cross-fertilization with other social and economic spheres, supporting the development of partnerships involving organizations with different and complementary backgrounds.
Partnership
This project is a collaboration between 4 partners.
- Equilibri Sostenible (EquiS) – Project Leader
- International Olympic Truce Centre (IOTC)
- Darki Athletic Team
- Universitatea Dunarea De Jos Din Galati
Duration
24 Months (01/01/2020 – 31/12/2021)
Main Purpose
This project will identify good practices concerning creative interactions between grassroots sport and environmental sustainability and translate them in new skills, adequate to current challenges, underpinning new concepts and strategies for sport and physical activity based on environmental sustainability, trying to enlarge the domain of individual, social and community development, because “mens sana in corpore sano, in natura sana” (health mind in healthy body in healthy environment). The project will identify and exchange those good practices which help redefine people’s wellbeing, as a holistic multi-dimensional combination of physical, mental wellbeing and a healthy and inspiring environment.
Specific Objectives
Better reflection on environmental sustainability, in order to promote greater engagement in sport and physical activity, as follows:
- Promotion of wellbeing, so that the sports sector and professionals adopt more sustainable welcoming and inclusive activities, especially for the groups that are underrepresented.
- Organization of activities open to all ages and physical conditions, as well as establishment of a good connection with the nature.
- Encouragement of local collaboration to deliver more joined-up experience of sport and physical activity.
- Extension of the range of partners, from different sectors, using their expertise and investment opportunities to help others align their resources.
- Empowering innovation, particularly applying the principles of environmental sustainability, which can motivate people to behave differently.
Key Activities
“Sustainability Roadmap for Skills”, based on four Milestones:
- Milestone 1: Exchange of good practices “Let’s warm up to cool the climate”.
- Milestone 2: Exchange of good practices “Let’s start moving to cool the climate”.
- Milestone 3: Exchange of good practices “Let’s move faster to cool the climate”.
- Milestone 4: Concrete demonstration of the practices exchanged during the former project Milestone.
The virtual kick-off meeting of the Warm-Up project will take place in June 2020 (delayed due to Covid-19).
