The MOVE Congress 2013 delegates, organisers and volunteers danced this year’s event to a close to the vibrant flamenco rhythm celebrating the host city and movement. The finale echoed ISCA President Mogens Kirkeby’s closing words that highlighted the importance of moving together to keep the sector progressing.

“This sector has something to offer, and that’s the social aspect. What I find about this gathering is that it is a celebration of being able to find better ways of delivering local and national initiatives,” he said.

Reiterating the conference’s motto of seeing today’s challenges simply as ongoing changes that can bring about new opportunities, CESS President Toni Llop said that one of the biggest barriers to starting and furthering the initiatives, the global financial crisis, can also be seen as something we can overcome. “The problem is not money; that’s just in our minds.”

The final day’s sessions served as a reminder that the organisations participating in the Congress are already proving that they can break down barriers threatening their own work by promoting good governance in grassroots sport and finding new partnerships in fruitful sectors. They also showed how they are tackling social issues preventing citizens from living an active lifestyle with pilot projects for socially disadvantaged groups and customised active ageing programmes.

With all delegates dancing to the same beat, the MOVE Congress looks ahead to more examples of best practices, opportunities for collaboration and new ideas in Rome in 2014.

Special thanks to the MOVE Congress 2013 volunteers

Volunteering leads to positive changes in people's lives: bringing communities together, increasing a person's sense of pride and belonging, and in turn impacting positively on their health and wellbeing. The challenges facing volunteers in today’s society indicate that voluntary sport organisations need to make volunteer management a higher priority and an integral part of their strategic outcomes. 30 MOVE Congress 2013 volunteers made a great contribution to the Congress by sharing their time, knowledge and experiences. They also added to the atmosphere at the MOVE Congress 2013 with choreography that we all practiced at every session and knew by heart by the end of the event – our very own Congress dance which certainly kept us moving. We thank all of them for that.