Foreword and Greeting
Foreword
Childhood is the best time for people to learn. As children we can train skills that will last a lifetime – sustainable skills. However, at the same time children are dependent on guidance in everything they do, for instance in developing motor skills. Unfortunately many of our children suffer from a severe lack of exercise. The few opportunities for taking exercise are often coupled with the increased stimuli they have from television and computers. To give our children the best chances for their development and a high quality of life, exercise is becoming an ever more important component in forming our lives.
The healthy development of our children is also the responsibility of our cities and municipalities. “You need exercise” – is the motto of the appeal started by the cities of Athens, Innsbruck, Copenhagen, Rotterdam and Stuttgart in an EU project to encourage more exercise among our children. With this “You need exercise” project the partner cities want to exchange information on tried and tested concepts and make other communities aware of this theme and activate new programmes in local networks. Various best practice examples can be seen on the joint database (www.citiesforsports.eu).
The aforementioned cities have taken on the task of developing a directive for cities and municipalities as a practical guide for optimally encouraging exercise among children. What do we have to take into consideration for a targeted encouragement of exercise among children? What areas are affected? How should the measures be approached? How can programmes be developed and carried out that they are worthwhile and sustainable on a long-term basis? These are just a few questions that the cities have discussed with various experts to find answers based on their own experience to form a guideline.
The following guidelines give an overview of the various spheres of activity and recommended action, which should provide the municipalities with an insight into how they can encourage exercise among children on an integrative basis. Help will be given in solving problems with practical advice and tried and tested processes to illustrate possible approaches. The themes of the guidelines are comprehensive and range from politics through urban planning to tangible offers, networks and knowledge management. We hope that the municipalities can use these guidelines to find incentives for their solutions and, in this way, find the missing parts in their jigsaw puzzle for promoting exercise among their children. The aim is that these complement and extend their existing measures.
We look forward to a lively exchange of ideas and discussion on the differentiation and specification of the guidelines you have.
Mayors of the Partner Cities
Greeting
On the occasion of the first call for proposals on „Sport“, Stuttgart’s project proposal as lead partner was accepted in 2009. The project’s aim was to promote children’s physical activity and to develop a set of strategies in furtherance of this aim. Among the main project partners were the cities of Athens, Innsbruck, Rotterdam and Copenhagen. Within the framework of the project, the project partners developed practical guidelines intended to assist decision makers in the fields of sport, youth, education, health as well as sports associations in identifying solutions to promote physical activity among children, at local level, based on already existing recommendations and scientific findings. Best practice examples, implemented throughout Europe, are also described in the guidelines.
During the European conference „Active Cities – Active Children“, held on 30 September and 1 October 2010 in Stuttgart, a first draft of these guidelines was transmitted to the European Commission for refinement and modification.
These guidelines concern primarily local authorities throughout Europe. To enhance the important role and responsibility of local authorities to implement children’s physical activity policies, I am inquiring whether you would be prepared, together with your colleague and co-president of CEMR, Mrs Aina Calvo Sastre, to contribute a message to the guidelines. Please find attached a short version of the guidelines. For any additional information please contact my staff members at the Stuttgart Sports Office at +49711/216-4544 or via email info@citiesforsports.eu. They will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Annemarie Jorritsma
