UCC and Sport Ireland launch worldwide search for ideas to get people active

9 Jun 2021

A worldwide search for ambitious, innovative ideas to get people physically active is to be launched by University College Cork, in association with Sport Ireland and with UNESCO patronage - with up to €10,000 going to the best concepts.

The Global Design Challenge for Sport and Physical Activity is now open for registration, as part of a bid to engage more people in sport and physical activity following a year of lockdown and restrictions that have seen participation levels plummet. The challenge will run from June 21st-June 27th .

The Global Design Challenge for Sport and Physical Activity has Development Grants of up to €10,000 for the winning teams, and mentors and partner organisations ready to help turn the best ideas into real campaigns and initiatives.

The grand challenge this year is to design innovative ways of increasing participation in sport and physical activity in an inclusive, sustainable and fun way.

With eight specific challenges and categories, participants are asked to come up with innovative ideas of how to:

• Increase opportunities for engagement in sport and physical activity ensuring that it is accessible to everyone of any ability, age, race or socio-economic background.
• Inspire community-level engagement in sport and physical activity for all ages.
• Bring participants, volunteers and fans back to sport and physical activity.
• Use sport and physical activity as a means to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals in a practical way.
• Reimagine sport and physical activity (space and place; funding models) to make it more sustainable and resilient to shocks and change.
• Motivate children and youth to engage in sport and physical activity, that leads to life-long interest.
• Harness technology to radically change the way sport and physical activity are imagined.
• Integrate sport and physical activity into leisure and lifestyle activities e.g., cycling for transport, gardening for food security. 

To join the challenge, go to gdc2021.devpost.com, register, start gathering your team, and enter this initiative to find innovative ideas to get people physically active.