NEXT Sport Capacity building program

Capacity Building Program

Capacity Building Program is a focal point for laying the foundations of the NEXT Sport methodology, based on proximity sports in the neighborhood. The work of the researchers of the partnership focused on already well documented case studies to explore their strengths, barriers and methods used, choosing the most effective and analyzing their characteristics.

By doing so, it was possible to create a knowledge base for 30 sports instructors who participated in the online training day in June 2021. This training was recorded and edited to become an online training resource for you. It aims to spread the knowledge to a wider audience of professionals, who can use NEXT Sport methodology as inspiration for the future activities.

This program is for all sports instructors and educators who wish to change sport in their communities, making their neighborhood a place of relationship and collaboration through sport.

Program offers the opportunity to acknowledge its linkage and consistency to European HEPA Promotion policies and the WHO Global Action plan on Physical activity and "Every move counts" guidelines. We have organized a webinar in order to develop a better understanding on:

The capacity building program takes place entirely online. You can attend the lessons at any time and without constraints of time and duration of the session.

The NEXT Sport Capacity Building Program consists of the following resources, which must be followed in order for a correct understanding of the concepts provided:

We also recommend, for a more complete training, to combine video training with the NEXT Sport Toolkit.

MODULE 1 – Introduction

NEXT Sport Capacity Building Program is for all sports instructors and educators who wish to change sport in their communities, making their neighborhood a place of relationship and collaboration through sport.

Proximity sport is - today, even more so after a pandemic entered in our lives - a relevant tool for reactivating sedentary people by bringing sport and physical activity close to them, eliminating deterrent factors such as the lack of time to reach sports clubs and the cost of a membership card. By proximity sports we mean all the physical and sporting activities that can be carried out with simplicity in the places of the neighborhood, like common areas of condominiums, courtyards, public gardens, streets etc.

The NEXT methodology of proximity sports already existed before acquiring this name: activities such as condominium gymnastics, walks in the neighborhoods and traditional games in the courtyards are programs that UISP has been carrying out for several years, in various Italian territories. Following the success of these programs, UISP wanted to share the methodology to a European level, making it transferable and replicable in all contexts. This was possible thanks to the funding received from the European Commission under the Sport - Collaborative Partnership program.

The training module 1 is an introduction to the NEXT project, that explains the background of the project, its development and the reason for proximity sport.

The interventions are provided by Raffaella Chiodo Karpinsky (researcher), Francesca Di Feo (project coordinator) and Massimo Gasparetto (responsible for the health promotion policy sector).

Please follow more in a video here:

MODULE 2 – The NEXT Project

In the second module of the Capacity Building Program we enter the heart of the training, starting from the most important point: the NEXT project structure.

In fact, the project consists of few phases, which are explained in this module.

• The first phase, a research, was vital to lay the foundations of the NEXT methodology: it gave birth to the NEXT Sport Toolkit, a precious document containing the good practices that then inspired the pilot activities modulated on the NEXT method.
• Following this phase, the Capacity Building Program took place. In fact, from the data collected, the researchers of the partnership were able to extrapolate the strengths and criticalities of the good practices collected to create a well-defined method to be tested in subsequent pilot tests, the last implementation phase of the project.
• In parallel, the project developed this online platform to allow instructors and managers to access training materials, thus disseminating a methodology that is more relevant than ever.
• A NEXT Manifesto, always available on this site, outlines the principles and calls to action aimed at the various stakeholders who have become part of our fruitful network.
• The final phase, but no less important, is a set of recommendations for stakeholders and policy makers. They are the final effort of the NEXT project, aimed at causing a systematic change in the way we see sport towards a more familiar and proximity approach, which does not have as its ultimate goal the result, but the health and well-being of European citizens.

Please follow more in a video here:

MODULE 3 - A Methodology to face COVID-19 consequences

The third module of the training program deals with the delicate issue of the COVID-19 pandemic, which officially began in Europe around March 2020.

With the reflection of the speakers, Raffaella Chiodo Karpinsky and Daniela Conti, we think about the consequences of such an extraordinary event, and in particular, about the promotion of health through sport. The impact of the pandemic has affected all sectors, but recreational activities are perhaps the ones that have suffered the most from the point of view of the service sectors. If we think of sport as a means not only for recreation, but also as a support to the health system in the fight against pathologies deriving from a sedentary lifestyle and an inactive lifestyle, the damage due to stopping all activities is also significant as regards the health of the citizens.

NEXT could not have come at a more appropriate time:

• in a period in which proximity sport becomes the only means of exercising,
• a methodology, that promotes neighborhood sport can only have all the fundamental components to promote once again health through sport, even in such a difficult period.

Although there are many obstacles encountered during the organization of the activities, the impact derived from them has greatly exceeded expectations.

Please follow more in a video here: