In Common Sports 2018-2021 project wins ‘BeActive Awards’ among more than 100 good practices

The Mayor of Vila Nova de Cerveira, Rui Teixeira, was present at the 'BeActive Awards 2023' ceremony, awarded by the European Commission, in Brussels, in which the positive impact of  'In Common Sports 2018-2021' project was recognized in senior communities in partner European regions. The project won the 'Across Generations' category among more than 100 applications, receiving 10 thousand euros that will be invested in promoting healthy lifestyles among the municipality's senior population,

Rui Teixeira praised "the honor and great pleasure", on behalf of the municipality of Vila Nova de Cerveira and all the project partners, "in receiving this recognition from the European Commission", not forgetting "the senior teams, who are the essence of this project". The mayor of Cerveira reinforced that the award-winning project represents “added value to the community, keeping elderly people more active throughout the year and contributing to a more active and healthy society. Because we face increasingly aging societies, the project also plays a fundamental role in inclusion between generations in our territories”.

So far, the In Common Sports 2018-2021 project, financed by the ERASMUS + SPORT, has demonstrated that the introduction of competition as a motivational factor, alongside socialization, was an innovative aspect and an added value for the promotion of sport among the elderly and to increase their level of physical activity, which have maintained high participation rates among the elderly.

The consortium of partners, which included the Municipality of Vila Nova de Cerveira as coordinator (PT), the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (PT), the Municipality of Cesena (IT), the University of Vigo (ES), the Municipality of Aksakovo (BG) and the association Zöldpont (HU), promoted a set of integrated actions, namely the sharing and dissemination of good practices, the study and organization of sports competitions with games adapted for people aged 60 or over, in the meantime disseminated in other European territories.

It should be noted that this year's edition of the 'BeActive Awards' saw the formalization of more than 100 applications, distributed across four categories (Education, Workplace, Local Heroe and Across Generations), demonstrating the growing interest of organizations across Europe in publicizing its projects that promote sport and physical activity across generations.