On Thursday 8 August 2024, the University’s Institute for Physical Education & Sport (IPES) launched the booklet ‘Run & Smile’, bringing together a collection of inspirational stories featuring insights from 24 personalities on various facets of social inclusion, in printed form.

This initiative is part of the project INCLUSION FIRST, which was funded by the ERASMUS-SPORT-2022 Small-Scale Partnerships programme. It is aligned with other key global initiatives such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A key goal of the project was to bring EU sports policies closer to non-governmental sports organisations, making them more accessible and understandable for stakeholders at all levels, including the local level.

The project name cleverly underscored its focus on prioritizing inclusion while also serving as an acronym for its five core elements:

• friendship
• innovation
• running
• sustainability
• teamwork

The project consortium aimed to concentrate on the latest EU sports agenda, including the sport policies outlined in the EU Work Plan for Sport (2021-2024) and the priorities of the EU's Erasmus+ programme (2021-2027) in the sports sector. It fostered synergies among local, regional, national, and international policies.

In his foreword to the booklet, Prof. Andrew Decelis, Director of IPES, said that throughout this project, “we have made significant strides beyond our initial plans, enriching the project with additional valuable contributions”. He is referring to the numerous engagements with other sports entities, local and beyond, such as the one with Green Sport Expert Group of the European Commission.

Stories featured in the booklet “underscore the transformative power of sports in fostering integration and reducing social inequalities”, he continued.

The booklet can be accessed in its entirety online.