Over 200 people representing the majority of the municipalities in Västra Götaland gathered to learn about the work of Make a Move - the initiative that has been working to promote mobile communities. The conference focused on showing the workshop that has taken place based on the initiative's three pillars: physical literacy as an approach, collaboration across sectoral boundaries and work in various arenas, such as preschool, school, leisure, health care, senior activities and community planning.
A strong start with political backing
The conference was opened by Alex Bergström, Chairman of the Culture Committee of Region Västra Götaland, who highlighted Make a Move's cross-sectoral approach as a response to one of the biggest challenges of our time: increasing movement in society and how it can impact people of all ages. Stefan Gustafsson, Chairman of the Mölndal City Council, emphasized that Make a Move is an important piece of the puzzle in their work to improve the quality of life for the residents of Mölndal.
Physical literacy as a lifelong investment
Linda Johansson, process manager at RF-SISU Västra Götaland, pointed out that although we know more than ever about the importance of movement, we have never been more sedentary than now. The rhetoric used so far to get more people moving is largely about "you should move to avoid getting sick". Physical literacy is, in contrast, about finding each person's inner joy of movement to want to move throughout life.
Dean Kriellaars, a world-leading expert in physical literacy, sent a video greeting to the participants and praised Make a Move for their work in creating a culture of movement in communities by bringing together many sectors in this work. "We need to stop putting all the responsibility on the individual and instead create our communities fit for the movement voices of all people". Watch Dean's video here.
Beatrix Algurén and Suzanne Lundvall from the University of Gothenburg highlighted research on physical literacy, and the importance of putting this research into practice, which is made possible through Make a Move.
"Knowledge should not stay within the walls of the university," Beatrix emphasized.
She highlighted that physical activity can prevent or improve over 40 different health conditions. "Right now we spend huge resources on treatment in healthcare. Many people say we can't afford to invest in prevention, but the question is, can we really afford to wait?"
Implementation in municipalities - a long-term effort
Lidköping Municipality and Mölndal City have been pilot municipalities in the initiative and have designed and tested new ways to promote movement in different arenas in the municipalities. Maria Hedén Sturesson, Head of Culture and Leisure in Lidköping Municipality, talked about how the municipality has been able to build on its work with public health through Make a Move. Mats Lilienberg, Head of Culture and Leisure in the City of Mölndal, highlighted Make a Move and the cross-sectoral work as an important part of their work to create lifelong health for the residents of the municipality. When starting up Make a Move in Lidköping municipality, Maria saw the importance of finding people in the municipality who were brave enough to join the work and although it requires a lot of work to get collaboration, it is worth it. Both Mats and Maria emphasized the importance of political support and long-term collaboration to achieve sustainable change.
The good work done in the municipalities has led to many concrete initiatives that have started with knowledge-raising sessions on physical literacy. Some of many examples are: new activity areas, occasions where sports clubs let children and seniors try different sports, process management for educators at preschools, extra investments in lending equipment for para-sport, children who get to decide on the design of play environments, knowledge-raising efforts about active transport and much more.
Cooperation between civil society and health services
One concrete example that was highlighted during the conference was the collaboration between associations and healthcare, which was presented by representatives from Skaraborg Hospital. Children with obesity and diabetes have been given the opportunity to participate in exercise activities at Friskis&Svettis. By allowing the pediatric nurses to meet the children and caregivers in a different place filled with joy and undemandingness, instead of talking about the joy of movement, they have been able to show and encourage on the spot. And some of the effects among the children are increased joy and a stronger relationship between caregivers, children and their families. The children have shown increased self-esteem and dared to challenge themselves physically in a way that was not possible before.
"Now we have completely different conversations with the children and their guardians", said Alexandra Kargård, pediatric nurse at Skaraborg Hospital.
Regional cooperation provides power in the change process
Through Make a Move, the Movement Council in Västra Götaland was formed, a regional cooperation network of organizations in Västra Götaland that serves as a reference group where they exchange ideas and experiences, share knowledge, develop concrete activities and spread awareness of physical literacy and physical activity. Representatives from the movement council shared their experiences from the work and generally see many benefits of collaboration. For example, the University of Gothenburg contributes with research and evaluation of initiatives, the Västra Götaland Parasport Association contributes with the accessibility glasses, RF-SISU Västra Götaland contributes with insights into the association life and GOCO Health Innovation City contributes with insights into social planning. Leif Nilsson, senior advisor at GOCO Health Innovation City emphasized the power of the regional change work, "All of us are needed, including politics".
From theory to practice - concrete examples of success
During the afternoon, participants had the opportunity to learn more about how to work with movement in practice, in preschools, schools, physical environments or senior activities. Here, it was once again possible to see how collaboration is an important part of achieving results. Preschools, schools and senior activities collaborate with associations to show opportunities for active leisure, community planning becomes an important part of schools and preschools to create outdoor environments that invite movement, etc. It is fantastic to hear about some of the effects that have been noticed; reports of violations plummeting at schools, community planners now consulting children in the design of outdoor environments, seniors trying out parkour and finding new meaningful contexts, and children who can cope longer during lessons.
Collaboration and physical literacy - keys to success
In conclusion, the conference demonstrated the power of collaboration, with both regional and municipal work playing a crucial role in creating long-term change. Physical literacy is another key, where the goal is to get people to enjoy movement throughout their lives, regardless of age. Many participants expressed how powerful cross-sectoral work is to get the joy of movement going in society in several arenas at the same time and Maria Hedén Sturesson highlighted an important aspect of the change work, "Sometimes it's about collaborating with the right person instead of those with the right function"
Some quotes from participants after the conference:
"The power of cross-sectoral work, what skills, what power!!!"
"It inspired me to continue working across sectors. All the energy, joy, warmth and inspiring people! The fact that there are so many people around us in society doing so much good to get our children moving."
"Physical literacy, movement skills and movement culture - new terms that can have a big impact. Also how we can think more broadly in physical environments with more competences."
"Joy, community and encouragement. The fact that so many different agencies are working towards the same goal is wonderful"
"A great day in every way, but what I found most interesting was hearing your different ways of working towards the same goal. The different conditions of the municipalities and that it is a joint effort."