BVB foundation ”leuchte auf” and the Evonik Foundation launched a joint competition for project ideas – ”Einfach mal machen” (”just go for it”). The funding prize amounted to €50,000.
Last year, the BVB foundation ”leuchte auf” and the Evonik Foundation launched a joint competition for project ideas – ”Einfach mal machen” (”just go for it”) – related to exercise and healthy eating in Dortmund. The funding prize amounted to €50,000.
The aim of the project was to use innovative and health-promoting approaches to support schools, initiatives, organisations and clubs and help children and young people lead a conscientious lifestyle through exercise and healthy eating. The call was not intended for completed programmes, but rather for ideas that could be jointly developed and implemented under the direction of Prof. Dr. Thomas Jaitner from the Institute for Sport and Sports Science at the Technical University Dortmund (TU).
Following the call for proposals in May 2019, a total of 12 project ideas were submitted by July 2019. “Right from the start, we were impressed by the quality and creativity of the applications,” says “leuchte auf” foundation board member Carsten Cramer. ”The entire process and the collaborative work in the overarching project team was a lot of fun. All those involved were able to take something from it and learn new things,” said Marieke Köhler, manager of the BVB foundation ”leuchte auf”, as she reflected on the beginning of the selection process.
Criteria such as impact on the target group and sustainable, practice-oriented implementation played an important part in the selection process, while the experts involved were also given freedom to shape the project ideas in whichever way they saw fit. In the end, the jury was convinced by the ”Active Sports Bag” concept developed by the TV Gut-Heil 1865 association from Dortmund-Aplerbeck. The ”Active Sports Bag – containing a frisbee, rubber twist band, skipping rope and ball – is intended to encourage children to get active in a playful and fun way.
A team of master students led by Prof. Jaitner took up this idea and, together with all participants, developed a dedicated instruction manual for exercise leaders and a workbook for children to use at home. Motor skills – core elements for learning and taking part in sporting activities – were divided into coordinative and conditional aspects. The ”Active Sports Bag” concept also supports the emotional and social development of children. Key aspects in this regard are the adherence to rules, a sense of justice, the ability to absorb information, a high level of concentration as well as a sense of youthful optimism.
“We are very happy that we were able to win over the jury with our project idea for the ‘Active Sports Bag’. It wouldn’t have been possible to realise the project on this scale without the donation and the collaborative partnership. Thanks to the cooperation with the Dortmund Technical University, we were able to approach the topic of ‘Promoting physical activity for children,’ from a fresh angle. Now we would like to motivate as many children as possible to get active and on their feet, both outside and inside their nurseries, schools and clubs,” say Susanne Maurer, head of department, and Holger Maurer, chairman of TV Gut-Heil, in a joint statement.
