EUROPEAN COMMISSION IDENTIFIES IN COMMON SPORTS PROJECT AS GOOD PRACTICE AND CASE STUDY

Among 90 intergenerational sport programs and projects implemented in several European Union countries, the project "In Common Sports" (590543-EPP-1-2017-1-PT-SPO-SCP) was elected one of the 15 best European practices in this area and considered a case study. This recognition is part of the "Mapping study on the intergenerational dimension of sport", promoted by the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) of the European Commission.

In an initial stage, the study's authors identified 3-4 relevant projects in each country in the European Union with a focus on increasing the participation of young and old people on intergenerational sport and sport-related activities. In this phase, more than 90 programs and projects were identified which, after a more detailed analysis, including interviews, resulted in the publication of 15 cases in the final report.

One of the arguments that support this result is the “good example of sustainability”. Although it was originally planned as a unique event, the Olympics4all 2015 project and later the In Common Sports project, gained great popularity among participants and encouraged the organisations involved to hold editions in subsequent years, given the interest and motivation expressed by seniors. The study now published by the European Commission can be consulted online at the following link https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0878e8b0-3b61-11eb-b27b-01aa75ed71a1/language-en 

It should be noted that the third update version of the project applied for the European program Erasmus + Sport 2020 named "In Common Sports +: Fit, Food and Fun for Elderly" was approved last October. With implementation between 2021 and 2023, the goal is to hold 18 senior competitions and sport day events and two training sessions per week involving more than 500 seniors in the six partner countries, provide 4 international training modules and the Guidebook Olympics4all.