“Tartu Call for a Healthy Lifestyle – Where are we 2 years later”: Seminar in Brussels, 19th June 2019

On 19 June 2019, Commissioners Navracsics, Andriukaitis and Hogan as well as professionals from the health, sports, education and food sectors met in Brussels to take stock of progress made in implementing the 15 commitments of the Tartu Call. The Hungarian School Sport Federation was also present at the event to promote the European School Sport Day® (ESSD) 2019.

The Tartu Call for a Healthy Lifestyle was launched during the opening of the 2017 European Week of Sport in Tartu (Estonia). The three Commissioners agreed on joint actions to promote healthy lifestyle with strong cooperation across the health, sports, education and food sectors.

Inspired by the Call, ESSD aims to drive social change by promoting healthy lifestyle and jointly addressing healthy diet and physical activity among children and young people. Schools are the ideal setting to form children’s behaviour as they can reach most children during the years when habits are still evolving. In 2019, in response to the Call, ESSD is providing a toolkit with practical ideas to empower schoolchildren for a lifetime of healthy eating with particular focus on hydration and fruits & vegetables consumption in addition to #BeActive.

Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport talked about the importance of intervention at an early age. In his opening speech he highlighted: “People are more likely to stick to healthy habits they took up when they were young. And solidarity and team spirit in schools improves with fun and inclusive sports.”

He also mentioned that “European School Sport Day, organised in the context of the European Week of Sport, is another useful tool encouraging schools to embrace physical activity and healthy lifestyles. Millions of children take part in the European School Sport Day every year, and I am sure they have fun and appreciate it.”