“I promised and I fulfilled this promise!!!” Romanian Senator Bogdan-Constantin Matei excitedly shared the news on his Facebook page about a political victory on a national scale and the first milestone of its kind for the NowWeMOVE Campaign’s MOVE Week: The senate in the Romanian Parliament amended the national Sports Law to include MOVE Week in its articles of law, meaning that MOVE Week can now be supported by the Ministry of Sport, National Sports Associations, sports clubs and local communities. NowWeMOVE National Coordinator for Romania, Mihai Androhovici (pictured above, bottom-left), shares the story with us.

Bogdan-Constantin Matei initiated this amendment to the Sports Law as the Minister of Youth and Sports during 2018-2019. He observed a need to improve the national sport system and create more equal opportunities for people in both rural and urban communities to access sports activities. Now Matei is a Senator in the Romanian Parliament from the Social Democratic party. Before his political and administrative career, he was a teacher of physical education and sports.

The introduction of this new paragraph regarding MOVE Week in Romania to the Sports Law will allow the Ministry of Sport and the National Sports Federations, as well as the local communities, to organise and finance MOVE Week events with public money.

This is very good news from the Romanian Parliament about MOVE Week.

An unofficial translation/extract of the amendment of the law is below. Please feel free to contact MOVE Week National Coordinator Mihai Androhovici for more details.

“MOVE Week in Romania” law was promulgated by the President of Romania by Decree No. 546/27/04/2020 and becomes Law no. 116/27/04/2020
Unique article. - At Article 3 of the Law of Physical Education and Sports No. 69/2000, published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 200 of May 9, 2000, with the subsequent amendments and additions:

(4) The Ministry of Sport can organise "MOVE Week in Romania" every year.

a) The Ministry of Sport can organise and coordinate "MOVE Week in Romania" through the county departments for sports, sports clubs and national sports complexes;
b) The Ministry of Sport can organise "MOVE Week in Romania" in partnership with the Ministry of National Education through the Federation of School and University Sports on the basis of protocol and common order of the two ministers;
c) The Ministry of Sport can organise "MOVE Week in Romania" in partnership with the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee and the National Sports Federation;
d) The Romanian Olympic Committee, the National Sports Federations and the Sports Federation for All who will conclude contracts to finance the sports activity with the Ministry of Sports can include money in the application for funding to support "MOVE Week in Romania";
e) Administrative-territorial units can allocate funds in order to support the "MOVE Week in Romania" based on a protocol concluded between these and the county sports departments, sports clubs and non-governmental organisations working in the field of sports and youth on the territory of Romania;
f) County sports departments, sports clubs and non-governmental organisations are obliged to inform the Ministry of Sports regarding the actions that are to be taken;
g) The Ministry of Sport centralises and coordinates all planned actions.
h) The Ministry of Sports is obliged to ensure at least an equal number of actions in rural and urban areas;
i) The Ministry of Sports can conclude voluntary contracts through its divisions with athletes or former sportsmen, coaches or former coaches and great personalities of the Romanian sport in order to successfully promote and implement the law of "MOVE Week in Romania";
j) The Ministry of Sports may offer distinctions to those provided for art. 4 letter i) with the mention that Ambassador of the "MOVE Week Romania" and/or other distinctions due to their involvement in the purpose of the present law.
k) The Ministry of Sport will present publicly, within 120 days from the event, a report of the activities included in the "MOVE Week Romania", the budgets allocated by all the institutions and organisations involved, the number of participants, the class final minds, awards and distinctions given.
l) "MOVE Week Romania" will also include sports activities dedicated to young people, children and adults with disabilities.