The word “sustainability” means to maintain, keep going, meet basic needs… not necessarily terms that are synonymous with development or progress. Yet progress in the area of university health and fitness was exactly the theme of the week in Nijmegen on November 12-16th, 2018. Topics of lifetime fitness, green building and sustainable event planning melded the worlds of academic sports and the pressing need to consider our lifestyle’s impact on our bodies, minds and environments.
The week kicked off with exciting team building activities, surprise BMX demonstrations and of course the Asborn Cup where 12 teams competed in various feats of strength and coordination, the networking and comradery only slightly outweighing sheer fierce competitiveness!
Closing the week off, Tilburg University won the annual ENAS Sport Net Award sponsored by Kukri Sports.
Participants, including nearly all ACE member universities, reported that the event was an excellent opportunity for professional networking, meeting, greeting, collaborating and brainstorming for future projects with sustainability top of mind.
A look at the program:
Day 1
Session 1: Sustainability and University Sport
– Moderated by Andrea Altmann
– Keynote by Milan & Patrick Van der Meulen
– Panel with Pieter den Hertog (Radboud), Peter Lynen (RWTH Aachen), and Pam Watts (NIRSA)
Session 2: Sustainable events
– Moderated by Henri ten Klooster
– Keynote by Filippo Bazzanella
– Keynote by Claudia Bokel
– Best practice Ronald Veerbeek, Zevenheuvelenloop
Session 3: Sustainability at your University
– Moderated by Michelle Tanner
Day 2
Session 4: Fit for Life
– Moderated by Ramune Zilinskiene
– Keynote by Maria Hopman (Radboud University)
– Best Practice by Lukas Declerq (EuropeActive)
– Best Practice by FISU Healthy Campus
Session 5: Green facilities
– Keynote by Bjørn Aas (NTNU Trondheim)
– Keynote by Christiaan (Wageningen University)
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