News - European Network of Sport Education

"Anti-doping education is currently at an early stage and there are several needs that must be addressed".

New Erasmus+ project Virtual Reality Approach to Anti-Doping Learning (VIRALS) aims to improve anti-doping education in a groundbreaking way. ENSE is now part of this exciting project!

The project argues that anti-doping education should be based on state-of-art learning pedagogies and it should be concerned with changing mindsets, intentions and behaviours towards doping use by reducing the risk factors and promoting the protective factors against doping.

In order to achieve this, VIRALS will follow these methods:

Utilize cutting-edge behavioural science research about the risk and protective factors against doping use in amateur and grassroots sports to inform the development of an anti-doping Virtual Reality program aiming to assist in the prevention of doping.
Use an "open innovation" framework to co-design the anti-doping virtual reality program, through the active collaboration of VR designers and young people engaged in amateur and grassroots sports.
Apply and evaluate the effectiveness of the doping prevention Virtual Reality program in changing young people's learning, motivation, beliefs and behaviour towards the use of PAES, and in promoting a more positive mentality about drug-free and health-enhancing physical activity and sports.
Train the trainers on how to promote the Virtual Reality program into several the project’s target groups, namely adolescents and young competitive and recreational athletes.

ENSE decided to move the ENSE Forum in Guimaraes from 2021 to 2022. On the originally planned dates for 2021 (23-24th of September), there will be an online event instead. More information on this event will be released at a later stage.

Tempo Livre, a Portuguese grassroots sports organization and ENSE member, will host the Forum in Guimarães in 2022, a city also known as the “birthplace of Portugal”.

Initially founded by the local municipality, Tempo Livre is highly active in the fields of grassroots sports, sports promotion, as well as in the management of local sport facilities. Since 2018, Tempo Livre have also launched their very own sport studies department, the Centro de Estudos Do Desporto Guimarães.

In the meantime, if you are interested in more information about presenting or participating in the forum, you can reach out to us at info@sporteducation.eu. Alternatively, you can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin to stay tuned to the latest news from ENSE!

Given the increasing change and diversity in European cities, encouraging social cohesion is of utmost importance for stability, growth and solidarity. In light of this, over the last decade, sport and physical activity have become increasingly recognized and implemented as tools to foster social cohesion in neighborhoods, cities and communities around Europe. Yet there remain important gaps in our understanding of how to conceptualise, deliver and measure sport and social cohesion activities.

ENSE is now part of the Sport for Social Cohesion Lab (SSCL) project, which provides an innovative approach to address current gaps in knowledge within sport and social cohesion programming.

As such, the SSCL project will implement a Living Lab approach to directly engage programme participants, generate understanding of the elements that promote social cohesion in a sport setting and to develop relevant tools to allow for the exploration, measurement and improvement of social cohesion outcomes in highly diverse but vulnerable urban neighbourhoods.

Through this, the SSCL project aims to increase social cohesion and support practitioners in delivering high quality sport for social cohesion programmes.

ENSE firmly believes in the benefit of exchange and cooperation to not only develop the field of sport education, but to build bridges between people of different backgrounds.

Though the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many to stay put, travel will nonetheless return as an essential part of that exchange and cooperation. However, we are also not blind to the negative environmental impact caused by travel. Thus, on November 11th 2020, the ENSE Board approved a new Green Travel Policy that applies to all travel paid through ENSE.

According to the new Green Travel Policy, all travel that can be completed by train, one-way, in 5 hours or less will be done by train or road. Added to that, when available at reasonable costs, travelers will endeavor to book recognized, sustainable accommodation. ENSE will also donate 10 EUR per return flight to a recognized carbon offset provider.

Our new policy aims to ensure that all aspects of travel including vehicle rental, lodging, local transportation and allowances for meals and incidentals are regulated in a way that they cause the least negative environmental impact possible.

You are welcome to review the policy here. Organisations are also welcome to use this as a template for their own policies. Critical, constructive feedback is also welcome via info (a) sporteducation.eu.