The objectives of the project were the following: To share and exchange good practices on the impact of green sports and outdoor activities to the links between encouraging a healthy and inclusive lifestyle and working for a healthy environment; as well as spread it in the youth work field and other sectors; To enable youth workers, organizations and young people, to develop a limited set of measures, actions and initiatives associated with green practice sports and outdoor activities; To increase the sense of belonging and the sense of community for the youngsters in their local community through their direct and active participation obtained through the practice of green sports and outdoor activities; To raise awareness on the environmental issues by bringing the Green Deal close to youngsters and give them the right tools to take action; To contribute to building empowered and committed communities to increase the processes of youth participation and empower them for the environmental challenges that in today’s EU regions are facing; To create a network of organizations in Europe that plan and implement future projects with the E+ program in order to generate further opportunities for young Europeans and their local communities
The project has been built as a response to the European Green Deal, a set of policy initiatives to transform the EU into a climate neutral society by 2050. While the successful implementation of the strategy heavily relies on actions taken by the industry and the governments with a goal, among others, to minimize greenhouse emissions, to further exploit renewable energy and to develop efficient energy infrastructure networks among EU member states, it is crucial that citizens and especially young people, the future generation, should not be left behind in this process. Instead, bottom-up initiatives designed and executed from the civil society and the youth sector are needed in order to achieve enhanced awareness about environmental friendly approaches on an individual level in a way that each single citizen becomes accountable for their actions towards the environment. Understanding the importance and penetration of sports and outdoor activities in the society and young people daily routine, it is of paramount importance to comprehend how sports impact the environment and to identify feasible measures which will transfer traditional sports into more sustainable and environmentally friendly activities.