2022 is the European Year of Youth. In this context, on June 17, on the occasion of the European Sports Forum 2022 in Lille, the European Commission gave the vote to the ISF to join the discourse on the challenges faced by young people practicing sports, and to present the ISF events.
ISF President Laurent Petrynka gave a speech, which ended with some final words addressed to the French Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castér.
The purpose of the ISF President’s speech was to call on young people to become more involved in school sport from practice to leadership and also directed public authorities to reconsider the potential of school sport, in addition to highlighting how major sports organizations are beginning to consider schools as important partners.
Therefore, the ISF calls on all stakeholders involved to:
- incorporating school sport or its dimension into all public policies relating to youth
- adapt study programs to the holistic development of youth by better linking the intellectual and physical advantages of learning processes
- offer sports lessons to all categories of the population from an early age to form lifelong habits and not to make school sport an exception in their lives
- Include educational modules in sport-related activities to raise awareness of health and social issues
- Strengthening school sport by:
* Daily activities
* High quality equipment
* Support and training of physical education teachers
* Wider and varied offer of activities allowing for greater attractiveness and interest in sport - build more bridges between organized sport and educational institutions
ISF President Petrynka: “I call on young people to get involved in school sport as part of their life experience.”