PlayGreen is a European project directed at young people that is dedicated to environmental sustainability and the fight against climate change (which has recently come to be known as the climate emergency), it aims to connect them with the sports world to make it more sustainable and encourage them to engage in physical activity.
Objectives:
- Involve young people with an interest in the environment and climate change to create sustainable sports events.
- Strengthen the commitment to sustainability of sports entities and their followers.
- Encourage young people with an interest in sustainability to play sports.
- Help young people to develop skills and abilities that will prove to be valuable in their professional lives within the framework of sustainable development.
- Increase female participation in sports events.
Description of the Practice:
Playgreen means playing for the creation of sustainable sports events and contributing to the mitigation of the effects of climate change through young specialist volunteers and young people who want to receive training on climate change and the environment.
During 2019 and 2020, the programme was being created and put to the test within the framework of four sports events organised by the UEFA federations of Malta, Estonia, Latvia and the Flemish region of Belgium. In each country, a comprehensive strategy is put in place to include local agents and create synergies to attract volunteers. The Federations mentor volunteers who will form a mixed team made up of at least 40 % women.
The project made three tools available to sports entities so other sports entities can organise sustainable events and/or access material to learn more about the subject.
Impact and Results:
- 1 Guide on environmental volunteering in sports
- Pedagogical materials for green sport events with volunteers
- Study about sustainability in sports
- PlayGreen Tool to measure impact of actions in sport events
- Raised awareness of environmental impact of sport events
- Raised participation as volunteers in sport events of women and youth
Conclusions and Recommendations for Youth Workers:
PlayGreen is a useful project because it tackles volunteering and green volunteering in sport events, but it can be applied as an idea and its results can be used also in other events involving volunteers. That can be a great way to ensure sustainability of youth events.
Find out more on https://ecoserveis.net/en/playgreensports/
PlayGreen materials are available upon request to Ecoserveis, its coordinator. Check more info on https://ecoserveis.net/en/donation/playgreen/
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