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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Session

Import to your local calendar

GR2_1_2: Symposium: From Policy to Practice: Integrating Physical Literacy into Community and Public Health Systems

Time:

Tuesday, 08/Sept/2026:

1:45pm - 2:55pm

Session Chair: Johannes Carl

Location: Glass room 2

Presentations

From Policy to Practice: Integrating Physical Literacy into Community and Public Health Systems

Chair(s): Johannes Carl (Technical University of Munich, Department Health and Sport Sciences, Germany)

Background and aim of the symposium: Physical literacy (PL) integrates physical, affective, social, and cognitive capabilities to foster lifelong engagement in physical activity. While PL is prioritised in global frameworks like WHO’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) 2018–2030, the concept still lacks clear operationalisation and implementation across Europe. This symposium, organised by the newly established HEPA Europe Working Group on Physical Literacy, showcases how PL can move from initial conception and policy to supporting tangible intervention and implementation across four European contexts.

Summary of contributions:

The first contribution from Germany reports on a modified Delphi study to develop a national consensus-based framework, bridging international PL discourse with national health and curriculum traditions.

The second contribution from England introduces the "THRIVE" project, which co-designed six actionable principles to translate holistic PL theory into cross-sector professional practice.
The third contribution from Greece details a randomised controlled gymnastics intervention for girls, demonstrating the effectiveness of embedding PL principles into community sport to improve physical competence and knowledge.
The final contribution from Ireland provides a large-scale thematic analysis of the "Gaelic4Mothers&Others" programme, evaluating how non-competitive, social sport structures support women’s lifelong physical and mental well-being.

Added Value: This symposium offers diverse perspectives, combining conceptualisation and policy challenges (definition aspects, practice principles) with tangible intervention experiences in different contexts. Most importantly, the session concludes with an interactive expert forum to inspire dissemination across nations and discuss how to collectively and systematically advance health-enhancing physical activity through PL across Europe.

Conclusion and Key Take-Home Messages:

Implementation Sensitivity: Aligned with the recent ‘Global Physical Literacy Action Framework’, effective PL integration requires a clear national understanding and clear practice principles to ensure multi-sectoral engagement.
Empirical Evidence: Holistic PL interventions in community settings successfully drive improvements in objective competence and confidence, particularly within underrepresented groups.
Systemic Shift: While PL is inherently person-centred, transitioning toward inclusive, non-competitive social environments is vital for sustaining lifelong physical activity.
Collective Roadmap: The plenary discussion will synthesise the insights into a roadmap for advancing PL within the HEPA Europe network.

Presentations of the Symposium

Developing a national consensus on physical literacy in Germany

Tizian Schuck¹; Leonie Schnith²; Christine Joisten³; Stefanie Wessely³; Clemens Töpfer⁴; Johannes Carl⁵; Jochen Mayer²; Susanne Tittlbach¹
1: University of Bayreuth, Germany; 2: University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany; 3: German Sport University Cologne, Germany; 4: Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany; 5: Deakin University, Australia; Technical University of Munich, Germany

Purpose: Physical inactivity remains a major public health concern. Physical literacy (PL) is recognized as key for promoting lifelong health-enhancing physical activity. In Germany, no shared definition or conceptual framework exists, and intersections with related national concepts remain unclear. This project aims to develop a consensus-based framework of PL to guide future physical activity and health initiatives.

Methods: A modified Delphi approach is used to establish consensus. First, a core team (n=8) synthesizes an overview of national and international definitions and conceptualizations of PL, including distinctions from related constructs, for an initial draft. Second, an interdisciplinary expert panel (n=30), purposively recruited from research and practice in physical activity and health, evaluates their agreement with proposed definitions and domains using Likert-scaled items and provides qualitative feedback. Two-to-three anonymous iterative rounds are conducted until predefined consensus thresholds are achieved.

Results: The synthesis of internationally relevant conceptualizations and recruitment of the expert panel are underway. Key aspects of the compiled definitions and conceptualizations will be presented, including considerations regarding translations into relevant health care settings in Germany. The first Delphi rounds are scheduled until September 2026. Preliminary findings and the final consensus framework will be available at the conference.

Conclusions: This consensus-based framework harmonizes understandings of PL across sectors in Germany, supporting consistent implementation in physical activity and health contexts. By bridging national traditions and international discourse, it establishes a foundation for future initiatives and policies to promote lifelong health-enhancing physical activity.

Support/Funding Source: None.

Keywords: conceptual alignment, expert consensus, interdisciplinary, health promotion

THRIVE: Translating physical literacy into actionable principles for policy and practice

Lawrence Foweather¹; Naomi Beckles²; David Cooke³; Charlie Crane²; Liz Durden-Myers⁴; Nigel Green⁵; Matthew Hallam²; Emma Mackenzie⁶; Jade Malone⁷; Trevor Smith⁸
1: Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom; 2: Sport England, London, United Kingdom; 3: Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom; 4: Bath Spa University, Bath, United Kingdom; University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, United Kingdom; 5: International Physical Literacy Association, Wigan, United Kingdom; 6: London Marathon, London, United Kingdom; 7: Youth Sport Trust, Loughborough, United Kingdom; 8: Sportsmith Ltd, Cornwall, United Kingdom

Purpose: Physical literacy is increasingly recognised within European and global policy frameworks as foundational to lifelong engagement in physical activity. However, systems often lack clear guidance on how to translate this holistic concept into policy, environments, and professional practice. This study aimed to co-design a set of actionable principles to support the enactment of physical literacy across education, sport, community, and health contexts.

Methods: A structured co-design process was undertaken with a working group comprising academics (n=3) and system leaders (n=6) in England with expertise in physical literacy, education, coaching, community development, youth voice, and environmental design. The process included iterative workshops and online meetings, concept mapping, and structured evidence synthesis. Draft principles were refined through multiple rounds of feedback and aligned with the Physical Literacy Consensus Statement for England to ensure conceptual coherence and cross-sector applicability.

Results: The co-design process generated six principles: Tailored, Holistic, Reflective, Inclusive, Varied, and Empowering (THRIVE). Together, these articulate the conditions that support individuals to develop and sustain a positive and meaningful relationship with movement. The principles provide a shared, action-oriented framework to guide organisational reflection, programme design, and policy development.

Conclusions: THRIVE offers a co-designed framework for translating physical literacy into practice. By operationalising theory into clear principles, this work addresses an identified implementation gap and provides a structured foundation for future evaluation and system-level adoption.

Support/Funding Source: This project was funded by Sport England.

Keywords: Physical literacy; Implementation; Policy; Practice

A holistic gymnastics intervention was effective in improving girls’ physical literacy

Vasiliki Kaioglou; Komanthi Kouloutbani; Fotini Venetsanou
School of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Purpose: Physical literacy (PL) provides a pioneering framework for fostering children's physical activity (PA) while supporting their holistic development. Despite its prominence, PL interventions aiming at enhancing physical, affective, cognitive, social, and behavioral skills and characteristics remain limited in sport settings and among girls, who typically engage less in PA. This study investigated whether a PL intervention implemented within a sport setting was effective in improving girls’ objective and perceived PL.

Methods: Eighty girls (M_age=9.2±1.3 years) were randomly assigned to experimental (n=44) and control (n=36) groups within a 10-week community-based gymnastics programme. The intervention integrated holistic practices targeting outcomes across all the PL domains. The Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy–2 (Greek version) and the Physical Literacy in Children Questionnaire (Greek) were used to assess objective and perceived PL, respectively.

Results: Data analyses showed significant improvements in the experimental group for objective PL (p=.006, η²=.095), and its physical competence (p=.002, η²=.118), and knowledge and understanding domains (p=.018, η²=.074) compared to the control group. While no group-by-time interaction emerged for perceived PL, paired-samples t-tests indicated that the experimental group improved in perceived PL (p=.017) and perceived physical competence (p=.021).

Conclusions: The findings highlight the potential of embedding PL principles within existing community sport structures as a practical strategy to develop girls’ competence, confidence, knowledge, and active habits, thereby supporting their sustained participation in sport and PA.

Funding/Support Source: This research received no external funding

Keywords: healthy active living, holistic sport programmes, sport pedagogy, childhood

Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Gaelic4Mothers and Others Programme in Ireland: A Thematic Analysis

Glynis Gardiner¹; Wesley O'Brien¹; Conor Philpott¹; Irene Hogan²
1: Physical Education, Sports Studies and Arts Programme, School of Education, University College Cork, Ireland; 2: Department of Sport, Leisure & Childhood Studies, Munster Technological University, Ireland

Purpose: Women’s participation in sport and physical activity remains consistently lower than men’s worldwide. The Gaelic4Mothers&Others (G4M&O) programme, developed by the Ladies Gaelic Football Association to engage women aged 25+, promotes fun, non‑competitive participation in Ladies Gaelic Football. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the programme and explores participants’ experiences to inform future programme development.

Methods: A mixed-methods design was used, based on a validated self-reported online survey. This abstract focuses on qualitative data generated through an open-ended question completed by 386 participants. Responses were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key patterns in experiences and perceptions beyond the quantitative measures.

Results: A total of 1,111 women completed the full survey, with 386 contributing qualitative feedback. Five themes emerged: (1) Structure and Rules, (2) Enjoyment and Fun, (3) Community and Friendship, (4) Equality and Inclusivity, and (5) Cost and Accessibility. Participants highlighted strong enjoyment, social connection, and health benefits but also noted challenges related to programme consistency, accessibility, and the balance between structured play and flexibility.

Conclusions/Implications: The G4M&O programme effectively supports women’s physical, mental, and social well‑being while fostering inclusive community engagement. However, programme sustainability and growth would benefit from greater adaptability in rules and delivery, targeted funding to strengthen accessibility, and enhanced supports addressing participants’ diverse needs. These findings can guide practice and policy aimed at promoting lifelong, community‑based physical activity for women.

Support/Funding Source: This research was funded by the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA).

Keywords: Programme sustainability; community engagement; physical activity; inclusivity; social connection