On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, the European Federation for Company Sport hosted a hybrid conference on active workplaces. In his opening speech, Philippe Paquay, Director General of Sport Vlaanderen, spoke about the work of the Flemish government in the field of active workplaces and emphasized the importance of physical activity for the well-being of employees. The head of the EU Commission’s Sport Unit followed up her speech with a call to create a new normal that benefits the health of Europeans. She referred to the European Commission’s HealthyLifestyle4All campaign, which was launched in September this year, and the #BEACTIVE Awards, which include a workplace category.
Yves Le Lostecque, Head of the Erasmus Mundus & Sport Unit, then went into more detail about the funding opportunities for physical activity promotion, including in the workplace, offered by the Erasmus+ program. He stressed that the European Commission recognizes the importance and potential of physical activity for health and economic growth and that funding for physical activity and sport has been significantly increased in the current funding cycle of the Erasmus+ programme. The opening remarks were followed by updates and discussions on projects such as the “Workplace Active” certificate, an EU-funded action under the Erasmus+ program, which provided the framework for this conference.
The innovative aspects of the Active Workplace Certificate project lie in the choice of a specific channel to tackle low physical activity in the EU: the company. Indeed, the company as a context and place for engaging employees in physical activity is particularly suitable for several reasons.
