The short answer is “Because we need more active children!”

Actually we need a dramatic change in the behaviour of children. We are unfortunately seeing a strong trend of inactive lifestyles and an increase in overweight and obesity among the youngest members of our societies. Today we are not giving our children and our youth the motivation, the environment or the tools to enjoy the full benefits of physical activity.

The bottom line is we need a much larger number of children to be physical active than we have today.

In sport we have the term MVP = Most Valuable Player.

In our sectors we as well have MVP – but for us it is the Most Valuable Partnership.

The local community – where the real life of the children takes place – is crucial when we want to change the habits of our youngest citizens. For children and young people the school and sport clubs are influential entities. The partnership between schools, sport clubs and municipalities has proven to be very powerful when successful collaborations have been established.

We believe we owe it to our children and young people to expand this Active School Community collaboration and multiply it, so WE take responsibility for assisting each individual child to practice their right to an active and healthy childhood.

Address from Mogens Kirkeby to the Committee of Regions of the European Union on 8 June 2017 as part of the Active School Communities project. A session dedicated to Active School Communities will feature at the MOVE Congress in Birmingham, UK, on 6 October 2017 - registration is now open.