On 23rd and 24th of September 2021 the HEPAKid2 project team took part in three mobility visits: Murska Sobota (Slovenia), Cakovec (Croatia) and Zagreb (Croatia). The purpose of mobility visits was to exchange skills, knowledge and practical experience on physical activity programmes for children up to 10 years of age.
The first mobility visit was organised in Murska Sobota by Centre for Health and Development Murska Sobota where the hosts were Mr. Peter Beznec, Ms. Alenka Gersanov and Ms. Ana Šabjan. During the meeting the project team visited kindergarten Urska which presented the Little Sunshine programme for children. Kindergarten’s staff, Barbara Stancevic presented the political background of Little Sunshine. This programme started being implemented in the 2011/2012 school-year as a test programme in 25 Slovenian preschools. The Little Sun is intended for children aged 2 to 6. Its purpose is to add modern motor/sport contents to enhance the preschool motor activity programme. The emphasis is on play and exercise, both pleasing and adapted to children. The programme is also intended for children with special needs, for whom more attention is required, along with adaptation of exercises and work methods. It is important that people who implement these activities focus on providing continuous exercising in a playful and entertaining atmosphere throughout the year, even if some children are capable of doing the exercises in their first attempts. After the kindergarten, the participants took off to working facilities of CZR Murska Sobota where they exchanged impressions and discussed more about how to better promote physical activity for children.
The last meeting point was Expano – a regional promotion centre which is designed to showcase the Pomurje region by presenting the region itself, the regional tourism opportunities, and key attractions. It is located at the Sobota Lake where at that time all elementary schools celebrated National Sport Day.
The second mobility visit was organised in Cakovec by Medjimurje County. The meeting was organised first in the facility of Medjimurje County. Ms. Morana Kis and Ms. Kristina Kovacevic presented sport and physical activity in Medjimurje County. They proudly underlined that the county is European Region of Sport in 2022 which is an additional recognition of their sport movement.
After the presentation, the project team went to the city swimming pool “Marija Ruzić” where the head coach presented swimming programmes for 30 children up to 5 years old. The club counts 250 members.
The third mobility visit was organised the next day in Zagreb by DSR SUPERKID.
During the meeting, the project team visited ZTD “Hrvatski sokol” which is the oldest sport association in Croatia and one of good practices of sport for children. Mr. Marijo Moznik who used to be a member of this club, presented club’s facilities, coaches and staff as well as several training sessions for children and youth. Project team additionally had a chance to talk with trainers and discuss key factors which are important while working with children. During the meeting, in gymnastics gyms there were more than 50 children practicing gymnastics.
After the meeting, the project team headed towards the HEPAKid2 final conference where project results will be presented to key stakeholders.