The fifth European Week of Sport will run from the 23 – 30 September and encourages people from across Europe to be more active. The initiative, run by the European Commission, promotes the importance of physical activity to people’s wellbeing.

We are delighted that the Commission has – besides sport – recognised play as a key way to get the EU’s youngest citizens moving, and has accepted TIE as a partner in spreading the #beactive message during the EWoS. TIE’s DG Catherine Van Reeth signed the agreement with Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics during the opening ceremony in Espoo, Finland.

As part of our commitment, we organised a lively round table in the European Parliament to talk about how play sets children up to be active for life, which was hosted by MEP Miapetra Kumpala-Natri and featured expert speakers from the World Health Organization and Fundamentally Children.

As Europe faces an inactivity crisis, play is crucial in setting up children to be active for life. Through play children can develop the skills needed to take part in physical activity and sports later in life. Not only does active play help children to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it is an opportunity to discover the enjoyment of being active.