Homepage › Forums › SWUP exchange of practices › 1. What do women expect from municipal governance to increase their motivation to practice regular physical activity?
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Considering the statistics, the general accepted way to involve people in an active lifestyle is to have the proper background and infrastructure conditions needed.
In Romania, most of the people consider that they are not motivated to do sport, first of all because of the bad conditions, the lack of the sport fields, together with the fact that in 2018, in most of the cases, people has to pay in order to practice sport, and sport, through it’s functions became a source of business. Looked from outside, the situation in Romania and in all over the Europe has still also secondary causes, disregarded by a part of the people, but still there, in our minds at every step. We are aware about them, but in most of the cases we are not doing anything in order to get out of the box and to be us the ones initiating the first steps, offering ourselves as solutions. In this matter, the personal reflection will provide certain measures, as they were recently identified in the questionnaires.
The municipal governance still plays a very important role in the local directions.
First of all because a municipality who understands the importance of sport, practiced at any level, understands the investment in the local Health of the people, and after that, generates an image, which can be a brand one, that can set the view of the entire city.
On the other hand, Education, in a time in which the school is not enough to solve and to achieve all the expectations and needs of the young generation. For that, the municipalities should understand they can assume an active role in supporting the local educational system, first through professional infrastructure – supporting performance, and secondly, through basic or specific conditions – supporting mass sports.
Another important issue is the Inclusion at local level, a huge phenomenon which can decide the direction of an entire community, in a period in which if we tolerate and accept, if we involve and not discriminate, we are for sure more prepared to do the next step, to understand and be aware of all the pluses existing. In most of the cities, we have minorities, people disadvantaged by culture, geographic conditions, social conditions, educational conditions, financial ones or disability. For all of them sport can be the framework to include, and Municipalities can be the main initiator and beneficiary of the results.
Another important issue that can be considerate in our discussion is the local general prerogative of the public administration and local governance to create and generate together with the local community strategies and programming documents in order to ensure the equal participation is local sport’s life, using sport, for it’s benefits and on the other hand as a tool to unify visions and thoughts. The municipality has to take care and to ensure the framework to be involved, both for men and women, and if the situation today is different, in those communities, it has to be changed.
The human resource is still one of the most important arguments. Motivating people and offering them the chance to surpass their limits by supporting them by the municipalities, is one of the most powerful starts we can admit. For that, the debate is huge, but if at it’s end, al the entities will understand better their role not only for a small amount of people for a general view, the situation will be improved. Teachers, trainers, mentors, facilitators, project managers, leaders, youth workers, youth coordinators, NGO presidents, club coordinators, volunteers, all of them should be connected in order to do a strong update in local sports field.
Proposed questions for discussion:
– How would you like to be supported by the local municipality in order to increase you involvement in mass sport?
– Which will be the most important infrastructure investments that you consider fundamental in order to restart the mass sport framework at local level, with an impact on women involvement?
– What kind of activities would you like to be organized and what human resources do you need for it?
– What kind of policies do you feel needed in order to increase the women involvement in local sport field?
– Who can be the partners / stakeholders of the local administration and civil society in order to increase the women involvement in sport field?
– What are your good examples that can be applied by the local municipality?
How would you like to be supported by the local municipality in order to increase your involvement in mass sport?
In order to increase women involvement in mass sport, it is essential to make sport an easy option. This means that the sport offer should be economically affordable, easily reachable, attractive and providing extra benefits besides the sport activity (socializing moment, relieve stress, etc.).
There are many measures a municipality can tackle in order to meet these objectives. To make sport activities economically affordable, the municipality can use part of the incomes deriving from the rental of public structures to provide incentives for sport practitioners (for example through a point system that reward participants with money, sport equipment or discount in shops when they attended 10 sessions in less than 2 months). By using local suppliers as a venue to spend these incentives, the municipality will also attract more acceptance and consensus by the local community around the sport incentives and more generally around the sport practice.
To make sport easily reachable, municipality can encourage schools and actors owning large spaces to equip them for sport activities and open them to the general public in those part of the days that they are not used for their main purpose. Parks can also be equipped and managed in a way to increase the security perception and increase the availability of easy to reach sport grounds.
To make sport more attractive and meeting different needs of the citizens, the municipality can encourage sport space’s managers to organize special sport events and dedicate a part of the gym to a hybrid space like cafes or lounges, where people can socialize. Municipality can encourage this both through supportive regulations/ urban plans and through support for the organization of the activities and the maintenance of the spaces.
– Which will be the most important infrastructure investments that you consider fundamental in order to restart the mass sport framework at local level, with an impact on women involvement?
One of the possibilities is to embed the sport space in a larger hybrid space that gathers simultaneously several functions dedicated to local community, where people can gather not only to do sport, but also to drink a coffee, celebrate a birthday, attend a community meeting, borrow a book or prepare a meal together. These multifunctional spaces have a long tradition in the US. Palo Verde Library and Maryvale Community Centre is a good example of a multifunctional ensemble. Besides the sportive community centre, it offers a library, an auditorium, a ballroom and loisir spaces for juniors and seniors https://www.archdaily.com/102240/palo-verde-library-and-maryvale-community-center-gould-evans
– What kind of policies do you feel needed in order to increase the women involvement in local sport field?
Policies that help reduce the lack of time that women with family often experience could be key to increase women involvement in local sports. For example, policies that raise awareness on the bigger load that women usually experience in house activities besides their main profession, or policies increasing the working flexibility of women with children would help women to have more free time to devote to sport activities.
We also wish a policy that encourages sport practices that are fair and help to develop the critical thinking and independence of women. This means sports played with high ethical standards and with a holistic view on the physical as much as intellectual/psychological development of the sport practitioner. In this way sport could express its best potentialities also in term of inclusion of women in the social and political life.
– Who can be the partners / stakeholders of the local administration and civil society in order to increase the women involvement in sport field?
Gyms, sport clubs and sport associations are a key actor to increase women involvement in the sport field. Their reach, network and marketing capacity are a key tool if redirected towards women participation in sport. Also loisir association not having sport in their core mission can be an important channel to reach women that are far from sport environment. Other two crucial actors, usually neglected in main policies, are women’s employer and women’s partners. Working and domestic environments that are aware of the importance of sport activity can significantly decrease the time burden that prevent many women from practicing a sport.
Last but not least, developing synergies with the health sector would allow to develop campaign raising awareness of the benefits of an active life.– What are your good examples that can be applied by the local municipality?
We answer this question by sharing the recommendations that the “Active girls and women strategy” report suggests in order to increase women and girls’ involvement in sport or physical activity in the municipality of Ballarat, in Australia:
• Conduct and monitor research on structured and unstructured physical activity and participation rates for women and girls across the region, particularly activities likely to be popular with women such as walking, netball, aerobics/ group fitness/gym activities, cycling, swimming, running, yoga, dance, tennis and soccer
• Work with universities and sports associations to explore possible opportunities and actions required to improve sport pathways for women and girls
• Support women’s and girls’ sport participation initiatives
• Support local competitions and physical activity events targeting women and girls.
• Identify opportunities to partner with organisations that delivery female physical activity programs or initiatives
• Explore opportunities to work with community groups and other relevant service providers or agencies to facilitate opportunities for low cost, social physical activity options these may include running or walking groups, football, basketball etc
• Develop a series of walking, running and cycling maps of the Municipality to promote opportunities for local participation
• Develop a strategy around family-friendly activities. This will include promoting general play spaces as free family-friendly exercise and active participation opportunities.The whole report can be read at this link: http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/media/4455763/2018_active_women_and_girls_strategy.pdf
1. What do women expect from municipal governance to increase their motivation to practice regular physical activity?
-The municipality should provide suitable place for sport.In the ideal version they can cover the entry fee or establish a low entry fee policy for using a sports facilities.
-Variety of sports offers: By nature, women need change and variety and fun to stay motivated.
– Publicity is also needed. Using a social networking or online community
-To use a right examples. To provide inspiration through female olympics athlete — for extra motivation.
– Opportunities for physical activity need to be created close to where women live, together with creating cleaner, safer, greener and more activity-friendly local environments.In Guimaraes, the existing infrastructures are of high quality and that way the investment will not be the priority.
The important thing, and taking into account the inquiries made, will be the adapting of working hours to the practice of physical activity.
The existence of sports clubs (usually associated with competition) is not enough, the involvement of associations is crucial.Tempo Livre is undoubtedly an excellent example that Guimarães has for the implementation of sports policies. Examples such as “Vida Feliz”, “Jogos das Comunidades”, and “Sports Belly” projects have community involvement, not only women but also men and in many cases, families.
The pilot program that Guimarães intends to implement is the example of the policies of engagement that can be replicated. We believe in the success of the strategy adopted for this initiative.
Dissemination, sharing and networking are the basis for the publicity of initiatives.RAMNICU SARAT in context:
Ramnicu Sarat is a medium size city in Romania, where starting with the age of 7 years old, every family can send their children to practice a sport in Local Sport Club. From a youth population of about 5.000 people, more than 500 are part of the local club in sports as: football, handball, basketball, volleyball. Still, even if the municipality invests in the youth of the city, in sport annually about 600.000 euros the feminine part is not very well represented, not more than 100 from 500 sportive being girls, and without any team in the first 3 romanian divisions. Still, in our city perform ONIX Atletic Club, a women football team playing in the second romanian league.
Regarding the mass sports, in the last 10 years the involvement of the NGOs was important in order to generate activities and actions to support mass sport, even if more than 80% of them were dedicated to boys. In the same time, analyzing the infrastructure, only a few things changed, by appearing new sport gyms, but without a serious intervention on the outdoor sport fields. Because of that, problems as sedentary, uninterested, and other social bad behaviors as intolerance, the lack of teamwork attitudes are missing. Still, in the last 2 years, the municipality offered a better attention to the infrastructure, by designing new fields through European projects which were applied, so more than 5 million euros will be invested in the next period in rehabilitation or building infrastructures for mass sports, especially in the marginal areas of the city. This decision came after 10 public consultations with more than 300 people from the areas, which together designed by a participatory process, the new investments.
– How would you like to be supported by the local municipality in order to increase your involvement in mass sport?
The municipality is the essential entity which could help for the development of the community and also the sport community. Even if, comparing with other communities, the municipality invests much in professional sports and less in mass sport, the situation has to be changed. The Romanian legislation offers to the municipalities the only way to finance mass sports, indoor and outdoor by a law – 350, which supports the NGOs and the local initiative groups with juridical personality. Still, their intervention is not a big deal, as the needs of the majority of the population are not solved and the impact of the municipality in the mass sports is less, both for women and men. For that, the desired support for the next period in order to increase the involvement in mass sports can be generated through:
– Creating a local action plan, which can be generated by SWUP SUSRAMNICUL women group
– Public meetings, debates and consultations to involve women from the community, models and interested women to practice a sport, together with women which are already practicing in a free way a mass sport
– By generating an agenda of formal and non-formal activities. Our municipality has a specialized department called: Monitoring and implementation of sport and educational programs and every year generates an agenda of more than 10 activities. There are sport competitions as: football, handball, beach volley, running, and the majority of the action are happening during the Days of the city in august. Still, there is a lot of space to do new activities, one of the first actions being to increase the number of people working on the field, in the office, in order to generate a bigger number of activities and also to ensure a strong evaluation for the needs of the community. Regarding women, the municipality now doesn’t have a specific program to implement actions only for women in a city in which men are naturally motivated, women being more directed to the traditional ways of spending the free time. Still in the last year, in the city appeared different opportunities and more than 300 women started to do: Pilates, Zumba, kangoo jumps, aerobics, or specific programs in specialized gyms. In this way, the municipality can implement local projects to follow these models and in the same to promote models of women practicing mass sports in the community.
– Another measure can be to elaborate strategies regarding the mass sports following the distribution of actions on gender: activities for men, for women and combined. In this way, the municipality could apply for a European project or could create a local team of initiative. In the last months, the mayor of the city already started an important campaign with more than 200 teachers in order to motivate them first of all to practice mass sports and on the second time to motivate youngsters to follow sport activities.
– Different campaigns for informing and making people aware about the importance of mass sports on the health, education, inclusion, changing mentalities. In the Youth Strategy elaborated at local level, the mentality of people was touched as being the most important problem at local level. In the same time, the uninterested of people was the second important problem of the community, both of them having important effects on the practicing of mass sports at local level.
– Another measure can be to offer different facilities to people which proves that are practicing a mass sport or offering free access to different sport areas
– By financing more activities, as for organizing activities you need money.
– By generating and implementing local, regional and European projects in order to increase the participation and the specific of the activities.
– Which will be the most important infrastructure investments that you consider fundamental in order to restart the mass sport framework at local level, with an impact on women involvement?
– For Ramnicu Sarat it is no doubt that the most important infrastructure update is to build mass sport fields in all the areas of the city. Now, Ramnicu Sarat is divided in 6 areas, which now any of them doesn’t have a field. So, for running everyone is going to the local stadium, with no strong facilities. For that, the municipality already applied and won 3 european projects which will consist in creating 6 integrated fields, in all the places of the city, offering to people, men and women the chance to practice in a free way a mass sport.
– Another important investment as a priority for the municipality is to invest in schools and in the sport fields from inside of them. This is already a project designed on three years.
– What kind of activities would you like to be organized and what human resources do you need for it?
As in the city there are not very big events and it is not a “culture” to practice sports, there are two directions to be followed. First of all the city, as every city who want to be known for its investment in sport, has to have a BIG EVENT in order to attract people from all over the around places. In the second time, in order to attract people from different backgrounds, with different needs, there should be organized activities on every category, including women, elders, youngsters, lovers of football, running, cycling, fitness, etc. For that return to the need to have a local mass sport strategy, consulted by an important number of women and men, in which to be designed, with their specific contributions, the future activities, projects and directions on mass sport in the community.
Other important activities are:
– Sport competitions
– Mass sport events
– Consultations and debates on different topics
Regarding the human resources we need trainers and facilitator together with volunteers and youth workers. Right now, the majority of the activities, locals and European projects are designed and implemented by the NGOs, following the need of youngsters to be involved and to develop competences. In this way, NGOs are very important together with sport institutions as Local Municipal Club though trainers.
Another important activity to be organized has to involve schools, for that sport teachers can have a centered place.
In the same timp the group of mothers and Femina Elders club can generate and implement sport activities, having more than 500 members.
Regarding the European projects which can be attracted, the coordinators, project managers, technicians and specialized mentors and youth workers are very important. Our community, being a medium one is passing a very big problem, considering that the majority of the youngsters, after the end of the high-schools goes to Bucharest and other bigger cities, and the specialists too.
– What kind of policies do you feel needed in order to increase the women involvement in local sport field?
First of all the most important would be to continue the effects of SWUP project in the community as this is the most important one, developed at local level until now and to continue SWUP WOMEN CLUB effects by implementing the agenda of activities which will be generated in the next period.
In the same time, having a strategy for mass sport for involving in the same time, women and men, is very important as it can design a strategic plan in which the municipality, as coordinator, can generate a sustainable action plan to be implemented together with schools, NGOs, different gyms and professional associations, and why not with local public institutions which can offer a model and a good example.
In the same time, regarding the women involvement, we need to give power and perspective to SWUP WOMEN CLUB and to generate new clubs at local level.
– Who can be the partners / stakeholders of the local administration and civil society in order to increase the women involvement in sport field?
In the last 3 years, as a representative of the municipality and also as a sport player, together with the mayor which is a former teacher and football coach, we succeeded to attract partners for the local development of sport phenomenon. In this way, more than 20 business companies co financed the football team until the point when we promoted in the third league. Right now, more than 15 companies are co-financing the activities of the local sport club on different branches ensuring equipment, transportation costs, camps, fees for participation to different events, accommodation. On very big success at local level in this way is the fact that ONIX Athletic Club is the only women team in Buzau region playing in the second women league, with very important chances to promote this year in the first league. This happens by a 70% contribution of 2 business companies and 30 % contributions of the Regional Council, by applying with irrecoverable project, every year. Following this, business companies has to be one of the first partners together with:
– Schools
– NGOs
– Citizens
– Regional and national entities
– Sport clubs
– What are your good examples that can be applied by the local municipality?
– Onix women football team
– More than 500 youngsters playing a sport in Municipal Club
– Mass sport events generated in august during the Days of the City
– NGOs implementing European exchanges and trainings on different topics, involving partners from all over the Europe.How would you like to be supported by the local municipality to increase your participation in mass sports?
The public administration can not turn its back on the evolution of society and, as far as possible, we should go advanced in some issues.
Nowadays, these issues are not resolved quickly. We have to make a rules that “obliges” you can go internalizing in society. It is necessary to “help” to walk so that the society itself develops as it considers.
We must not forget education in equality. Better, the education as normality. We are not all equal, but if we are all normal, with our particularities.
What will be the most important investments in infrastructure that you consider fundamental to reinitiate the framework of mass sports at the local level, with an impact on women’s participation?
We don’t consider that we should be made investments in infrastructures to promote female sports. Maybe, the sex must condition some rules of the games, but it must not require extraordinary investments. We would be wrong.
What kind of activities would you like to organize and what human resources do you need?
We would like to organize ANY sports event. we have to aware of the diversity of participation: women, men, young people, adults, older and youngest, with a disability or another, with some needs or others needs …
About activities for female gender: we think that nowadays, it is still necessary to organize events dedicated exclusively to women, occasionally. Despite it no one in Europe think to organize events only for Africans, tall people, lame people, or Asians…)
Abou human resources: people who, despite of volunteering or not, are good “professionals”. This one should be the feature that identifies us, and not identify the type of activity.
What kind of policies do you consider necessary to increase the participation of women in the local sports field?
• To promote their participation with intentive economics (subsidies in favor of sports entities what promoting women’s sport)
• Encouraging parity of gender in the formation of the Steering Comites
• To know the reality in our city: which are the most feminized activities and which are most masculinised, the number of women and men in clubs, associations … and proposing actions.
• To modify local actions changing the gender language, organizing activities with participation of both sexes in a balanced way …
• To disseminate the participation of women in mixed eventWho can be the partners / stakeholders of the local administration and civil society to increase the participation of women in the sports field?
TO ALL. Society is ready to make the change. It is required the leadership
Hy,i have 38 years old, i am woman, mother ( 3 years and 7 monte mort loved little boy ), employer. I will try to write to you about a kind of woman, that woman who is mother in the same time. To answear to you about what we need as mothers with childrens up to 8, 10 years old i have to tell you about us. Unfortunetly, in our city is still exist the old mentality through the women’s place is at home. I hope ( and i’ m thinking seriously to test this )that these mentality it exist in percentage of 25 % of all women whoms are mothers. This mentality it is realy exist on family, and the husbands can not accept that them wife can be the same woman even she stay at home or goes out, or even the husbands doesn’ t have this mentality the women were born and grew up in families ( them parents )with this old mentality.
The first STEP to pass abouve this mentality or to overcome the feeling of guilty when woman goes out to do sport is TO TAKE THE CHILDRENS with she.
For this WE NEED A PLACE where we can make sport in the same time with ours childrens. Or a place where the childrens can play something safetly, while we are SPORTING.
To not forget that the first year of being mother can make a lot of physical and mental changes. So I advocate sport to be done as soon as possible after pregnancy, and more than those i want to i ampathize that is important to be done with child near ( to desapear the concern about baby ) and with many women to create a socializing way, a a way to exchange views on various issues that arise in raising and educating children, in those way the physic and the mental are revived.
In few words we need a place where we can make sport knowing that ours childrens are in the same place, another room maybe,playing or doing sport safetly.
Nice to be here with you, Fus Ramona, Rm. Sarat, Buzau DISTRICT, ROMANIA.Have a good day!
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