Olympic Education Programme
Beijing, China
Beijing, China
Beijing, China
Innsbruck, Austria
Stockholm, Sweden
The Nanjing Youth Obesity Prevention Programme was an educational initiative built around the hosting of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.
The ultimate goal of the programme was to prove that there is a link between the level of physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices between young City residents and the incidences of obesity. This involved a unique, never-before-taken approach combining informational interventions and increased physical activity with principles of scientific measurement.
The programme was run by the Local Organising Committee of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games and involved engaging directly with local schools, parents, as well as with the young participants themselves. It used the platform of the 2014 YOG to attract and inspire those involved in the project.
The target group was 4th and 5th grade school students located across 32 primary schools in 16 urban areas dotted around the City of Nanjing. Classroom-based tutorials were combined with incentivised competitions such as poster design, painting and essay writing, all specifically around the theme of educating pupils on the benefits of healthy and active living. Alongside this, interventions in the form of access to increased recreational time and better sports facilities were introduced during school hours, while specific home assignments were allocated to parents through the students to instigate changes in the domestic environment.
The success of the various interventions was measured by applying scientific analysis on the levels of improvement of participants across physical and knowledge-based metrics. This process measured the results between the experimental group and a separate control group. Clear evidence was found that interventions that promoted physical activity and changes in lifestyle could help to fight youth obesity. State institutions have taken these findings and will now use them to inform relevant aspects of their public health policy.
Let’s Ride is a national junior riding programme designed by Cycling Australia (CA) to be a fun learning experience for kids. The programme teaches them to ride safely by developing their knowledge, skills and confidence – giving parents peace of mind.
Learning to ride safely is a skill that must be taught as children grow and gain independence. With 1.9 million Australian kids riding bikes every week, and no official programme to teach kids the necessary life-saving skills, there was a huge gap that needed to be addressed.
Cycling Australia has undertaken an extensive research and development process that led to the implementation of the Let’s Ride programme. Independent experts, representatives from state cycling bodies, potential instructors, marketing agencies and internal experts have all contributed with their own expertise in shaping the programme for maximum appeal to kids and their parents.
The Let’s Ride programme offers activities before, during or after school hours. Cycling Australia accredited instructors can come to your school to deliver the industry leading six-week program or Let’s Ride offers schools the option to deliver the skills course internally by providing the school with a comprehensive and yet easy to use package. Let’s Ride Delivery Pack contains all of the resources and content required to deliver the program.
Cycling Australia has also partnered with the Australian Sport Commission who had an existing school sport programme to help combat the increasing levels of obesity that has been observed among the youth. Through this partnership, schools can access the governmental funding to cover the cost of their students who are interested in participating in the programme.
Operationally, 30 delivery centres have been created in the different areas, of which 19 are in Sydney. Linked to local clubs and schools, these centres are mandated by Cycling Australia to handle the delivery of the programme in the various districts.
The program was piloted in 2015 and launched nationally in 2016. Since then, the program has operated in all states and territories across Australia. Having great success during this time the program is on the cusp of reaching 10,000 participants.
Get Set is the educational programme developed for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Originally designed and delivered in the lead up to the 2012 Games, it has now transformed into a fundamental part of the legacy of the event and is aimed at keeping youth engaged with Team GB and Paralympics GB in the lead up to the next Olympics. It simultaneously aims to keep these youths involved in physical activity and educate them on the values that underpin the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
Get Set was originally run by the Local Organising Committee for the London Games. Once the Games finished, this body was dissolved as planned and the operational responsibility for the programme transferred over jointly to the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association.
The Get Set programme is delivered through partner schools and youth groups and is predominantly housed online through the official Get Set website. Through this platform, pupils and schools can access content relating to over 200 different packages relating to sports and physical activity. These can be taken and applied to the classroom, the playground and even outside in the local community.
This online platform is supported by supplementary ad-hoc initiatives namely featured activities and the development of mobile applications. These additional initiatives usually involve partnering with various third parties for support and also ensures that the programme remains relevant and interesting as times change.
The programme has been one of the major success stories of London 2012 with over 24,000 schools and youth engaged on a continuous basis.
Muuvit is an educational tool that motivates young primary school students to participate in physical activity in exchange for virtual rewards.
The Muuvit story began in Helsinki, Finland in 2000 with support from the Finnish Sports Confederation, the National Olympic Committee and the Ministry for Education. The concept was developed as an effort to use technology and the spirit of adventure to attract and inspire young children to become more physically active. This was in response to increasing concerns about childhood obesity and health concerns linked to inactivity, particularly in urban areas.
The online platform allows teachers and educators to register their groups for free and access a range of educational and fun resources for use in the classroom. Virtual mileage is clocked up by the children based on their level of physical activity in school and at home. 10 minutes of physical activity earns 1 point per child. This is recorded by children on their own personal activity card and is also added to the class account and recorded on a group basis.
Mileage points earned can be redeemed using the online platform in the classroom. The teacher can then use the graphically rich interactive tool to bring children on an educational adventure around the World, learning interesting content about the places they visit. To move forward in the virtual adventure, the group must continually earn more mileage points by doing physical activities inside and outside the class. Rewards are always fun and include interactive maps, stimulating games and virtual tours of cities, for example.
The Muuvit programme has seen remarkable success and has grown from its roots in Helsinki, across Finland and now internationally. By to date, the programme has expanded into the USA, Brazil, Uruguay, Ukraine, Germany, Switzerland and Poland. Approximately 3 million children globally have been inspired to become more physically active as a result of Muuvit.
Antwerp, Belgium