In carrying out this project, they wanted to lean into a topic that, in the opinion of the partner organizations, is not fully appreciated in working with young people, namely physical activity as a form of supporting their mental and physical well-being. The aim of the partners was to exchange good practices in this area and develop activities that will allow them and other organizations working with young people to better respond to their needs and implement activities aimed at supporting their mental well-being through sports. We aimed to: increase partners' knowledge and experience of good practices in the field of youth activities with a particular focus on physical activity; develop joint activities to activate young people to participate in the sports and social life of their countries and the European Union, including young people at risk of social exclusion; strengthen partners' intercultural, linguistic, organizational competencies; develop activities that will serve to bring about positive social change in the above context.
We applied for this project because it represented an opportunity to contribute to positive social change in the context of working with youth, including those at risk of social exclusion. The project was created on the initiative of partner organizations from Poland, Czechia and Bulgaria, who work with youth on a daily basis and have international experience. Their observations and statistical data (e.g., Eurostat, WHO, EFSA) show that the level of physical activity among youth has decreased recently, mainly as a result of COVID-19, and that its absence has negatively affected the mental well-being of youth. Partners with experience in promoting various types of sports activities noted during the debates, conferences preceding the preparation of the project that sports and physical activity, in addition to having a beneficial effect on the mental-physical state, also allows for the setting of appropriate goals in life, which allows to avoid social exclusion, is a kind of prevention of addictions, pathologies among youth. The project allowed the partners to increase their competence in working with young people in the above-mentioned area, to develop activities that can be used by other organizations and by young people.