On 7. and On February 8, 2022, the first conference on sport entitled “Sports and Sustainable Development Goals in Childhood: Societal Issues on Appropriate Physical Activities” took place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris as part of the French EU Council Presidency. For two days, various stakeholders discussed how to further promote children’s physical activity while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In his opening speech, Xing Qu, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, pointed out the many benefits that sport brings from an early age, in particular the improvement of physical and mental health and general well-being. Xing Qu also emphasized the importance of sport in building sustainable, inclusive and fairer societies. However, the data shows that the level of physical activity is falling overall, especially since 2020 due to the pandemic. 80% of children were insufficiently active before the pandemic, and the status quo has worsened since the start of the pandemic: physical activity has fallen again by 41%, while mental illness among young people has risen by 200% according to UNESCO.
Sport and physical activity were also presented at the conference as ideal channels to promote children’s awareness, knowledge and understanding of nature and sustainability. This environmental learning helps to develop a relationship with nature and at the same time contributes to mental and physical well-being. The conference is therefore a call to action to include access to physical activity in every country’s pandemic plan. The Czech Republic and Sweden, which will hold the EU presidency after France, will also work to ensure that more attention is paid to the importance of sustainable and accessible sports infrastructure.
