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Reconnect. Rebuild. Restart.

After two years of meeting via computer and mobile screens across countries and continents, 250 physical activity promoters from 40 countries reconnected in person from 17-19 November 2021 at the MOVE Congress in Brussels. The opening of the MOVE Congress at Tour & Taxis’ Maison de la Poste venue kicked off two days of active networking and expert-led presentations, panels and workshops. Here are a few of the many highlights.

NowWeJuggle!
Will Borrell from Ecole de Cirque de Bruxelles led a mini-workshop for the audience at the opening, throwing one, two, three… SEVEN juggling balls into the air! Then a cricket bat, football and tennis racquet??! Everything is possible, he said – and if you drop one, you just RESTART.

“Nothing about us without us”

The Day 2 plenary featured a discussion panel of experts voicing the points of view of people who are typically – and often systemically – excluded from sport and physical activity. We put inclusion in the “sportlight” and asked why sport has failed to provide safe and inclusive spaces for girls and women, refugees and migrants, people with disabilities and LGBTQI+ participants.

How to restart friendlier
“Part of the theme here is Restart – but how?” Lars AP, the founder of the Danish F***ing Friendly movement asked the audience. “When you use your playfulness, your sport and your interest for it, you bring people together and you move people. And when [you’re] moving people, they don’t only move physically, but they get moved emotionally and that’s just spectacular.”

How to make a difference
“Every time you choose to challenge the status quo and choose to do something differently, not only does that hope take a life of its own but I promise you that you will excite and empower those around you to also take a stand and make a difference… I always say, ‘What is tradition if it isn’t peer pressure from dead people?’” Keynote Magid Magid, a Somali-British activist and author, founder of the Union of Justice, former Lord Mayor of Sheffield and Member of European Parliament.

How to keep going
“Four thousand people have been on top of Everest,” said Guin Batten, member of the world’s first all-female crew to row across the Atlantic Ocean from west to east. “700 have rowed an ocean, only 61 rowed this particular bit that we took, which is the wrong way, three of those people were women, six have died trying. Only 38% of rowers who leave from the US or Canada actually make it across the ocean.”

Did you know?
The final number of speakers, including workshop moderators and ISCA Awards presenters, was 66 – and an equal number of women (33) and men (33) took to the stage. We would need to check through the archives to be 100% sure, but we believe this was a MOVE Congress first!

Re-live all the highlights
Read recaps of all MOVE Congress 2021 sessions at the official website and watch selected presentations and interviews on your YouTube channel. We hope you’ll be inspired to join us at the MOVE Congress 2023!

MOVE Congress 2021 Themes and Workshops:
Rebuild: Inclusion in the ‘Sportlight’
Reconnect: Collaborate by networking and including refugees
Rebuild, Reconnect and Restart with Placemaking for the physical activity network
Restart: Towards a European Sport Diplomacy beyond 2021
Rebuilding mental health through physical activity
Mastering partnerships after Covid-19
Mastering the culture of innovation in sport and physical activity

The MOVE Congress 2021 was supported by the European Union through the IRTS Networking Platform project and Visit Brussels.

Programme Committee: Rachel Payne (ISCA, lead), Laura-Maria Tiidla (ISCA), Monika Resetar (ISCA), Laska Nenova (ISCA), Mogens Kirkeby (ISCA), Hilal Erkoca (ISCA, speaker logistics).