The new WHO physical activity guidelines have been launched and every move counts
On Thursday November 26th,
On Thursday November 26th,
Throughout Europe, many people have had their health and wellbeing severely affected by COVID-19.
On Wednesday 17 November, the European Commission hosted a high-level conference entitled, “The recovery of the sport sector after the COVID-19 crisis: the way ahead” in which the impact of COVID-19 and future of the sector was central to the discussion.
Last week the European Parliament and the representatives of the Council of the EU, which is currently presided by Germany, reached an agreement on both the Next Generation EU recovery fund and the long term EU budget.
Sector Skills Alliance for the Active Leisure‘s mission, since it was established in 2016, has been to identify sector-specific labour market needs, demand for new occupation profiles and skills needed to perform in the Outdoor and Fitness sector using scientific evidence.
Undoubtedly, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the landscape and has obviously brought us to another reality where there are new skills needed, new needs created and new challenges for the sector to overcome.
The European Week of Active and Healthy Ageing took place this week and emphasised that the changing European demography necessitates innovative capacity-building in systems and services for healthy ageing, and their implications to be more adequately addressed (click here for further reading on this issue).
On October 27th, the CHRODIS PLUS conference on chronic diseases took place online. The conference focused on showing how the good practices, models and tools implemented by the CHRODIS PLUS project can be tailored to various national and local settings across Europe.
EuropeActive (EA), the leading voice and non-profit association representing the European fitness and physical activity sector, hosted on Friday 30th October 2020 the first ordinary meeting of its President’s Council (PC) for Fitness Club Operator CEOs, as part of the recently presented new strategy for the sector’s development.
The Covid-19 pandemic has truly highlighted the role of the fitness and physical activity sector as a tool of prevention in its promotion of healthy lifestyles and fighting of inactivity, as well as its connection with sustainability. Thus, during the European Week of Regions, the immense potential which the sports and the physical activity sectors have in the European Commission’s top political priorities of the European Green Deal and Green Transition were outlined.
Last week, EuropeActive sent a sectoral Declaration for Action to the presidents of the EU institutions inviting them to join us in the promotion of physical activity for social, mental and physical wellbeing. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow, European policy and decision-makers must recognise that fitness centres and health clubs provide essential services, through boosting the immunity and resilience of European citizens.