Around 130 guests will come together in Riga on Monday, 16 February at the international conference “Sport and Physical Activity for Development of the Human Capital”. Being the key sport-related event of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the conference features an extensive list of speakers who will address the audience on various aspects of sport, such as street sport as a means for social integration, the urban infrastructure for sport and “soft” skills such as leadership, cooperation, problem-solving and others to be learned through sport. Three thematic workshops will be organised – Sport and Social Environment, Sport for the Quality of Life, and Education and Learning through Sport.
Over the past decade the European Union (EU) has broadened its focus on sport, taking it further than the battle for awards at high-ranking events. Political attention is now being paid to grassroots sport –amateur participation in various kinds of physical activities, usually without a high achievement ambition. Grassroots sport serves as a tool to increase social inclusion, decrease inequality and develop various “soft” skills which are important for employability.
At the same time, with the number of people living in cities increasing daily, the conference will also address such issues as the urban environment and the role of municipalities. Municipalities are currently the main grassroots sport providers throughout the world – from bike trails and local parks to sponsorship of certain physical activities. The conference will therefore also touch upon the issue of the decreasing physical activity of the inhabitants of rapidly growing cities.
With a particular focus on children and youth, grassroots sport as a developer of human capital is high on the agenda of the Latvian Presidency. Realising the full potential of grassroots sport was also stressed by Mr Tibor Navracsics, the European Commissioner for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport, in his address at the EU Sport Forum in Milan in December 2014.
For media attention:
The media programme is published on the Presidency website: https://eu2015.lv/events/political-meetings/eu-sport-conference-physical-activities-for-development-of-human-resources-2015-02-16
A joint press conference will be held on 16 February at 10:45 in the Baltija Hall at the National Library of Latvia. The Latvian Minister for Education and Science, Ms Mārīte Seile, the Head of the Sport Unit of DG Education and Culture at the European Commission, Mr Yves Le Lostecque, the President of the Latvian Sport for All Association, Mr Guntis Mačs, and the Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Science, Mr Edgars Severs, will take part.
Journalists are invited to follow the presentations by international experts from various European institutions and organisations both at the plenary session and at the parallel thematic workshops. Individual interviews can be scheduled upon request. Please note that only accredited media can attend the conference. Information on media accreditation is available at https://eu2015.lv/media-eu/accreditation. Please refer your questions on media accreditation or the work of the Media Centre to karina.leja@es2015.lv document.getElementById('cloakb45d1886742e49a7f54e98c3478f77a5').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addyb45d1886742e49a7f54e98c3478f77a5 = 'karina.leja' + '@'; addyb45d1886742e49a7f54e98c3478f77a5 = addyb45d1886742e49a7f54e98c3478f77a5 + 'es2015' + '.' + 'lv'; var addy_textb45d1886742e49a7f54e98c3478f77a5 = 'karina.leja' + '@' + 'es2015' + '.' + 'lv';document.getElementById('cloakb45d1886742e49a7f54e98c3478f77a5').innerHTML += ''+addy_textb45d1886742e49a7f54e98c3478f77a5+'<\/a>'; , phone: +371 26058258.