News

The HEPAKid2 final conference in Zagreb (Croatia) gathered representatives of local sport movement from Croatia and the partnering countries (Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia) on 24^th and 26^th of September 2021 during the European Week of Sport. Organised by DSR SUPERKID, the main aim of the conference was to present results of HEPAKid2 project as well as to celebrate five years of DSR SUPERKID’s activities.

The conference was officially opened by Mr. Mario Škegro, president of DSR SUPERKID on 24 September, together with Mr. Filip Matković, vice-president of DSR SUPERKID and Mr. Marijo Možnik, project manager of DSR SUPERKID. The conference was divided in two parts: theoretical and practical. The theoretical part was held on 24^th of September at WESPA Spaces, where participants had the opportunity to grasp the insights of project results, in particular of good practices in sport and physical activity for children up to the age of 10. There was a series of speeches on the main challenges and priorities in the field of sport and physical activity for children.

Project partners took active part at the conference and stressed the importance of sport and physical activity for children. Additionally, Ms. Morana Kiš from Medjimurje County (Croatia) pointed out that Medjimurje County is very proud to become European Region of Sport 2022. Mr. Tibor Letko from Gymnasticke centrum (Slovakia) highlighted that their gymnastics club is home of many successful Slovakian gymnasts. Ms. Ana Silva from Municipality of Lousada (Portugal) draw attention to accessible EU funding opportunities for everyone who wants to invest in sport and physical activity for children, whereas Ms. Alenka Gersanov from Centre for Health and Development Murska Sobota (Slovenia) shared with the audience best practices from National Sport Day which was held in Slovenia on 23^rd September.

The practical part was held on 26^th of September during the National flagship event of European Week of Sport at Recreational sports centre Jarun. DSR SUPERKID presented the practical work how to provide a health-enhancing physical activity for children. DSR SUPERKID sport stand was full of sport equipment for children such as cones, balls and reels. Besides, the HEPAKid2 project was presented at the main stage in the sport village where participants was able to hear why sport for children is so important for their physical and mental health.

After this conference, the project consortium plans to organize the last meeting in Bratislava (Slovakia) hosted by Gymnasticke centrum on 21-22 October, to prepare for closure of the project and celebrate current achievements.

On 23^rd and 24^th 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.

DSR SUPERKID organises a conference on September 24, 2021 in Zagreb (Croatia), WESPA Spaces with start at 18.00H, with the main topic on HEPAKID2 project results. This is the final project conference which will host relevant stakeholders in the field of sport and physical activity at local and national level.  Not least, the conference will host project partners from Municipality of Lousada (Portugal), Slávia Gymnastické Centrum Bratislava (Slovakia), Centre for Health and Development Murska Sobota (Slovenia) and Medjimurje County (Croatia). The most important output of the project is the Collection of Good Practices of Physical Activity in Early Childhood, which will be presented during the conference. This event brings the added value to participants as DSR SUPERKID celebrates five years of its foundation. In this regard, participants will have opportunity to see how DSR SUPERKID evolved from a small organization to a leader in the field of sport and physical activity for children.

A Transnational Project Meeting was held in Lousada, Portugal, on 8 and 9 September. The partnerships consists of the coordinator DSR SUPERKID (Croatia) and partners of the Municipality of Lousada (Portugal), Slávia Gymnastické Centrum Bratislava (Slovakia), the Center for Health and Development Murska Sobota (Slovenia) and Međimurje County (Croatia). During the meeting, the partners analyzed the development and implementation of a project aimed at collecting and exchanging best local practices in the field of sports for children up to 10 years old. Each partner shared with other staff members the work developed for children in their organizations and local communities and discussed collecting examples of good practices. As the host organization of the meeting, the Municipality of Lousada organized a visit to sports facilities and a sports complex in Lousada, presented the Training Program for Children for the school year 2021/2022 with sports offer for children between 3 and 10 years and invited partners to tennis lessons for children. In addition, the project coordinator presented the work plan, financial management, monitoring and project evaluation plan. The dissemination plan was reviewed and readjusted. The partners planned the next meeting, which will be double and will take place between September 22nd and 25th in Croatia and Slovenia due to the proximity of organizations in different countries.

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DSR “SUPERKID” organised an online kick-off meeting on HEPAKid2 project on 17/09/2020 and informed project partners about the project scope, management and implementation. The participants presented Medjimurje County from Croatia, Municipal de Lousada from Portugal, Centre for Health and Development Murska Sobota from Slovenia and Gymnasticke centrum from Slovakia. The current COVID-19 situation was the main challenge discussed and several options were put on the table. The next project activity is collecting good practices in the field of physical activity in early childhood and the project consortium showed a great enthusiasm in this regard. We may expect the collection by end of this year.

DSR “SUPERKID” willl organise an online Kick-off meeting on HEPAKid2 project on 17/09/2020 to inform project partners about the project scope, management and implementation. Participants will represent the following partners: Medjimurje County from Croatia, Municipal de Lousada from Portugal, Centre for Health and Development Murska Sobota from Slovenia and Gymnasticke centrum from Slovakia. HEPAKid2 project is co-funded by Erasmus+ programme of the European Union in the amount of 60.000,00 EUR. The aim is to support the mobility of managers and staff in the field of physical activity in early childhood. The project kicked-off in January 2020 and lasts for 24 months.

The European Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) organised two events in Brussels:

• an “Infoday” on Erasmus+ Sport on 30/01/2020 to inform potential applicants about the political context, future programme, simplification and funding opportunities in 2020 and
• a “Project Coordinators’ Meeting” on 31/01/2020 to inform beneficiaries on the administrative procedures, guidance on project management and financial issues.

At the “Infoday” speakers discussed policy and gave advice and tips on preparing and submitting proposals, and on the financial aspects of funding. There was also a chance to network during the day and during the networking cocktail and meet potential partners.

The “Project Coordinators’ Meeting” only concerned projects selected under Collaborative/Small Partnerships and Not-for-profit European sport events. Speakers discussed policy and gave advice and tips on project management and submitting final reports and dissemination of results in the Erasmus + project database.

DSR SUPERKID took part at both meetings and was very active. DSR SUPERKID met some project partners from our project “HEPAKid2” and created network with many other potential project partners and also, strengthen knowledge how to successfully deliver the current project.

We are very thankful for warm hospitality and we look forward to the next editions of both events.

Erasmus+ project HEPAKid2 officially started and will run through 2020 and 2021.