51 Municipalities Support Participatory Sport “Impuls” Project

On Saturday 25 January 2025, Luxembourg’s Minister of Sport, Georges Mischo, attended the "Impuls-Event", the official closing event of the "Impuls" project.

The “Impuls” project is a joint initiative between the Luxembourg Olympic and Sports Committee (COSL), the Ministry of Sports, and the National Institute for Physical Activity and Sports (INAPS), with the support of the Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte, focused on the development and promotion of sport and physical activity in municipalities, through a participatory approach.

According to the ministry, the project defined three main missions, organised into three modular blocks: state of affairs, networking, and developing together. A practical guide and a portal entitled “Your Guide and Portal for Local Sports and Exercise Promotion", ("Däi Guide an Däi Portal fir lokal Sport- an Beweegungsfërderung"), developed within the framework of the project, is expected to sustainably support the municipalities in the implementation of these three blocks and are now ready for use.

The ministry reported that at the closing event, in the presence of Alejandro Calvente, representative of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), representatives of the four participating municipalities (Clervaux, Niederanven, Grevenmacher and Roeser) shared their experiences, best practices and conclusions. The event attracted a total of 51 municipalities, attracting more than 150 people. It was described as taking place in an inspiring and dynamic atmosphere, conducive to exchanges, with a powerful message that marked the whole day: "Only together can we succeed".

In his speech, Minister Mischo, congratulated all stakeholders for their commitment and dedication throughout the last two years. "This project has created a strong foundation on which our future work at the municipal level will be built. Thus, in November 2024, I presented the reform of the sports coordinator called 'Meng Gemeng lieft Sport'. [My Community Loves Sport]. This project is largely based on the learnings and results of the 'Impuls' project. You will find a whole series of tools resulting from this initiative, which undeniably shows how important the work we are celebrating today was."

The Minister of Sport recalled his commitment to strengthening its support and advice to municipalities and their sports coordinators. The "My Community Loves Sport" project is a central pillar in this approach. This project focuses on three key areas: stakeholders, sports offerings, and infrastructure and spaces.

The reported aim of the project is to build a cooperative network between all stakeholders involved in physical activity and sports. This network will make it possible to understand needs and respond effectively by harmonising existing offerings, developing, if necessary, complementary initiatives and ensuring equitable access for citizens to these offerings. In addition, the strategic development of infrastructure and spaces dedicated to physical activity and sports, as well as the proactive strengthening of the organisational capacities of sports clubs, complete this approach.

In this context, the minister added that the ministry has significantly increased its budget for funding sports coordinators by more than 400% between 2023 and 2025. Further increases are also planned in the multi-annual framework.

At the end of February, a first signing ceremony of the "My Community Loves Sport" charter will take place with several municipalities.