IOC World Conference on Sport for All Comes to a Close in Lima
The 15th IOC World Conference on Sport for All came to a conclusion today in Lima, Peru, with a call to action to the Olympic Movement and the world of sport to “Get Moving”.
The Conference, which ran from 24 to 27 April, brought together over 500 leading experts in the field of Sport for All from almost 90 countries to share their best practices on a wide range of activities.
“There was a great attendance from around the world with extremely knowledgeable people,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “And the active participation of all attendees meant a great deal was shared and learned at this Conference.”
José Quiñones, President of the Peruvian Olympic Committee said: “Hosting the World Conference on Sport for All has provided a magnificent opportunity to learn from other’s experiences all while being able to showcase our initiatives here in Lima. The Conference will remain a milestone for further development of Sport for All activities in Lima and in Peru.”
Practical Approach
The themes of this Conference were the social benefits of sports and physical activity, the importance of the availability of sports facilities and public spaces and the cultivation of partnerships. Formatted on a practical approach, the Conference encouraged participants to experience and learn from actual programmes with site visits to Sport for All initiatives throughout the city of Lima. A series of practical sessions which focused on those conditions that are necessary for successful programmes and the challenges surrounding community engagement were also on offer.
“A lot of exchange took place,” said IOC Sport for All Commission Chairman, Sam Ramsamy at the Conference closing. “This Conference had the aim and ambition to match research with experience on the field of play. The reality of Sport for All is practise.”
Pledge to Action
The closing session also saw a participant share his or her tangible outcomes on one of the three themes of the conference and reveal a pledge for the future. “Concrete takeaways and a pledge to action in the future were what we were aiming for here in Lima,” said Ramsamy.
Bae Dixon-Schilling, from the Association for International Sport for All, pledged “to promote the significance of public spaces and raise the profile of sports facilities in all courses for Sports for All administrators being certified by Tafisa.”
“I’ve learned a lot and am inspired to go home and continue my work to develop Norwegian football,” said Stig Inge Bjørnebye, head of development of Children and Youth Football at the Norwegian Football Association. Commenting on the theme of partnership, his pledge was to “pick up the phone now and call a partner!”
“Get Moving”
Participants left the conference with the “Get moving – the IOC guide to managing Sport for All programmes” toolkit, which combines practical guidance and inspirational cases aimed at assisting and motivating participants in the development of new programmes.
The next IOC World Conference on Sport for All will be held in 2015.