Green Sport and Outdoor Activities for Environmental Awareness and Lifestyle

<< Background >>The project has been built as a response to the European Green Deal, a set of policy initiatives to transform the EU into a climate neutral society by 2050. While the successful implementation of the strategy heavily relies on actions taken by the industry and the governments with a goal, among others, to minimize greenhouse emissions, to further exploit renewable energy and to develop efficient energy infrastructure networks among EU member states, it is crucial that citizens and especially young people, the future generation, should not be left behind in this process. Instead, bottom-up initiatives designed and executed from the civil society and the youth sector are needed in order to achieve enhanced awareness about environmental friendly approaches on an individual level in a way that each single citizen becomes accountable for their actions towards the environment. Understanding the importance and penetration of sports and outdoor activities in the society and young people daily routine, it is of paramount importance to comprehend how sports impact the environment and to identify feasible measures which will transfer traditional sports into more sustainable and environmentally friendly activities.<< Objectives >>The objectives of the project were the following:To share and exchange good practices on the impact of green sports and outdoor activities to the links between encouraging a healthy and inclusive lifestyle and working for a healthy environment; as well as spread it in the youth work field and other sectors;To enable youth workers, organizations and young people, to develop a limited set of measures, actions and initiatives associated with green practice sports and outdoor activities;To increase the sense of belonging and the sense of community for the youngsters in their local community through their direct and active participation obtained through the practice of green sports and outdoor activities;To raise awareness on the environmental issues by bringing the Green Deal close to youngsters and give them the right tools to take action;To contribute to building empowered and committed communities to increase the processes of youth participation and empower them for the environmental challenges that in today’s EU regions are facing;To create a network of organizations in Europe that plan and implement future projects with the E+ program in order to generate further opportunities for young Europeans and their local communities<< Implementation >>The implementation of the project was achieved in the context of the following activities:* A kick-off meeting in Italy to officially launch the project and design the pathway for its implementation;* Research about the situation of green sport and outdoor activities in each country allowing the consortium to identify good practices in the field as well as challenges and limitations for the smooth implementation of green sports; * An International Seminar in Cyprus to share the results of the research with youth workers;* A Booklet of good practices on green sport and outdoor activities addressing the needs of youth workers, young people and those interested in transforming sports into sustainable and environmentally friendly practices;* A series of activities at a local level on water sports, mountain sports, green Sports in cities and urban environments in order to disseminate the knowledge and results with young people, youth workers and other relevant stakeholders;* An Evaluation Meeting & Closing Conference in Cyprus to present the outcomes and achievements of the project << Results >>* Research on the topics of green sport, outdoor activities and environment translated into five languages explaining the concept of green and sustainable sports allowing the reader to navigate through good practices in the field and understand the impact, benefits and limitations of green sports;* Increased quality of youth work in relation to activities in the field of sport/outdoor activities and sustainable development achieved through the implementation of an international seminar in Cyprus with the participation of youth workers;* An easy to read and implement Booklet of good practices on green sport and outdoor activities which provides advice on how to transform 12 sports (e.g. SUP, beach tennis, beach soccer, surfing) into more sustainable and environmentally friendly activities;* Improved awareness of the youngsters on how green sports and outdoor activities can have a positive impact on their health (physical/ mental) and environment achieved through the implementation of a series of practical workshops and sport activities at a local level as a part of the dissemination strategy of the project;* A Code of Conduct for Green Sports documenting simple steps for the implementation of green outdoor activities