Change the Game: It’s Your MOVE
The 9th MOVE Congress on 16-18 October set out to unearth the next game-changers for grassroots sport and physical activity promotion. More than 470 participants, 40 speakers, and 40 Innovation Alley presenters and exhibitors gathered in Budapest for three active days of learning, networking, exchanging ideas and trying out the latest technologies in our new Innovation Alley.
One of the biggest and most active MOVE Congresses yet, the 2019 edition was organised in collaboration with our members and partners, the National School, University and Leisure Sport Federation, Hungarian School Sport Federation, Hungarian University Sports Federation, Hungarian Leisure Sport Association, and the Hungarian Ministry for Human Capacities.
“WE WILL MOVE YOU”
Being the MOVE Congress, we don’t just talk the talk, we also walk the walk – or roll or jump, as the host organisations’ presidents, Mogens Kirkeby and Gábor Balogh did when they arrived at the Budapest Congress Center stage by scooter to officially open the conference. After a brief welcome, they challenged each other to a skipping contest, led by World Champion Adrienn Bánhegyi from Cirque de Soleil, who later invited the whole auditorium to join in an interactive workshop.
The next official speaker, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Tibor Navracsics, entered the stage and joked, “How can I deliver an opening speech after a performance like that?”
Noting the energy in the room, he added: “Events like the MOVE Congress are important, where people are joining forces and exchanging ideas and moving people.”
Interactive presentations from Innovation Alley exhibitors, including a “We Will MOVE You” chant and GoPlay icebreakers, kept the Congress delegates on their feet and set the tempo for the rest of the conference.
PROVOCATIVE PLENARIES
The MOVE Congress plenary sessions sparked active discussion as well as movement. Dr Fiona Bull from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and sports-tech innovator Markos Aristides Kern commanded the stage with TEDx style charisma, zooming in on physical activity from two vastly different (and at times provocative) angles and reaching a surprisingly similar conclusion. That we need to seriously challenge ourselves when it comes to getting more people active.
And when a MOVE Congress presenter arrives on the stage walking on his hands, you know you are in for an extraordinary experience. By the time Magnús Scheving, creator and star of LazyTown (the character Sportacus), wrapped up his presentation, the MOVE Congress participants were on their feet doing their best Sportacus poses and buzzing with a standing ovation as the day’s superhero left the stage.
It wasn’t all showtime, though; the parallel MOVE Congress tracks invited participants to go into more depth on selected topics and join in workshops to discover new approaches to physical activity promotion and fundraising.
MOVE CONGRESS 2019 TRACKS
- Game-changers connecting physical activity and health
- Carving a new niche with grassroots sport diplomacy
- Discovering new perspectives on physical activity promotion among school children
- Opening new doors to funding and support
- Redefining an “active lifestyle” with MOVEment Spaces and placemaking
The MOVE Congress 2019 was supported by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ Sport Collaborative Partnership projects Grassroots Sport Diplomacy and EU Pals.
Programme Committee: Rachel Payne (ISCA, lead), István Kulisity (Hungarian School Sport Federation), Réka Veress (Hungarian National School, University and Leisure Sport Federation), Laura-Maria Tiidla (ISCA), Mogens Kirkeby (ISCA). 
MOVE Congress 2019
Change the Game: It’s Your MOVE The 9th MOVE Congress on 16-18 October set out to unearth the next game-changers for grassroots sport and physical activity promotion. More than 470 participants, 40 speakers, and 40 Innovation Alley presenters and exhibitors gathered in Budapest for three active days of learning, networking, exchanging ideas and trying out the latest technologies in our new Innovation Alley. One of the biggest and most active MOVE Congresses yet, the 2019 edition was organised in collaboration with our
It’s a wrap! Highlights, presentations and photos from the MOVE Congress 2019
One of the world’s most active conferences, the MOVE Congress, wrapped up in Budapest on Friday 18 October with more than 470 participants, 40 speakers, and 40 Innovation Alley presenters and exhibitors having been part of the action. Catch up on the coverage from the MOVE Congress right here, where you will find stories on all of the plenary sessions and conference tracks. If you were there, see if you can spot yourself in our highlight videos and gallery on Facebook or
‘Be together, build together’ for more socially included and physically active citizens
The ‘Redefining an “active lifestyle” with MOVEment Spaces’ track gave MOVE Congress 2019 participants more insight into different aspects of creating active urban spaces and the emerging field of placemaking. They gained more knowledge on how to use the existing public space or redesign the urban space to introduce more people to an active lifestyle. During the track, speakers with different professions from 3 continents spoke about their experiences in working with urban design. And they all touched on the same
Opening new doors to funding and support
Following on from successful fundraising workshops at the MOVE Congress in Rome (2014) and Copenhagen (2015), the “Opening new doors to funding and support” track at the MOVE Congress 2019 in Budapest presented an even more diverse picture of funding sources – from corporate to charities to emerging methods such as crowdfunding. The track was led by ISCA Development Director and ASSOCIATIONWORLD CEO Kai Troll, who started the session by pointing out that grassroots sport and physical activity promoters need
New perspectives on physical activity promotion to children
LazyTown’s Magnús Scheving and the founder of the Primal Play method, Darryl Edwards, gave MOVE Congress participants a spectacular launch into a full day focusing on the theme of getting more children active. The track “Discovering new perspectives on physical activity promotion among school children” unveiled a new Moving Schools Award scheme and shared experiences from 3 continents, with speakers travelling to Budapest from Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, the UK and Poland to be part of the Congress. Presenting
Are we learning to MOVE for fun or is play a primal instinct?
When a MOVE Congress presenter arrives on the stage walking on his hands, you know you are in for an extraordinary experience. And one that’s guaranteed to get the audience moving. By the time Magnús Scheving, creator and star of LazyTown (the character Sportacus), wrapped up his presentation, the MOVE Congress participants were on their feet doing their best Sportacus poses and buzzing with a standing ovation as the day’s superhero left the stage. Day 3 of MOVE Congress began with
Game-changers connecting physical activity and health
Physical activity can help prevent non-communicable diseases. This is an established and scientifically proven fact. But it has taken time for the health and sport and physical activity sectors to recognise that they can join forces to help people become more active for their health. With Dr Fiona Bull from the World Health Organization underlining in the plenary that all MOVE Congress participants could play a part in delivering the WHO’s Global Action Plan for Physical Activity, the question that
Carving a new niche with Grassroots Sport Diplomacy
The second day of MOVE Congress 2019 brought various insightful talks and discussions, some of which took place during Track 2: Carving a New Niche with Grassroots Sport Diplomacy. Jacob Schouenborg, ISCA’s Secretary General, introduced the topic by noting that Grassroots Sport Diplomacy helps us look at our sector from a different perspective. “We know about grassroots sports, and we know about diplomacy, but those two terms have never been combined before,” he said. “Two years ago the concept of
Push the boundaries, think younger and embrace change to get more people moving
Dr Fiona Bull from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Markos Aristides Kern from Fun With Balls commanded the stage in the MOVE Congress plenary on 17 October with TEDx style charisma, zooming in on physical activity from two vastly different angles and reaching one surprisingly similar conclusion. That we need to seriously challenge ourselves when it comes to getting more people active. Challenge ourselves to reach people who are inactive and likely to fall outside the radar of our daily
MOVE Congress 2019 opens in Budapest
Game ON. The 9th MOVE Congress has opened in Budapest, where over 470 game-changers from around the world are gathering to share their secrets to getting more people active. And being the MOVE Congress, we don’t just talk the talk, we also walk the walk – or ride or jump, as the presidents of the host organisations did as they entered the Budapest Congress Center stage in style. ISCA president Mogens Kirkeby and the Hungarian Student, University and Leisure Sports Federation