Keep Youngsters involved

The project Keep Youngsters Involved in Sport targets youngsters and adolescents between 12-19-year-old with special interest for youngsters from low socio-economic backgrounds. Young people in Europe are less and less active. Especially youngsters from 12-19 drop out of (organised) sports participation and are less physically active. In addition, they present higher sedentary prevalence rates. Because of this, the project ‘Keep youngsters involved in Sport’ started. It is a European project with the aim to share experience, to gather knowledge and to disseminate the knowledge to grass-root sport organisations and professionals about how to prevent youngsters from dropout in sport. Within this project 14 factors were identified from research, to prevent youngsters from dropping out in sport; concrete actions were selected on how to reach and improve these 14 factors better and tools were developed for professionals and volunteers who work with youngsters in sport. In 2017 the project started with gathering research information and ended up with developing a very practical toolkit for grassroot sport trainers, coaches, youngsters, youth committee members and community sport workers who are active in sport clubs and sport/welfare associations or community sport. The most important tool is a card game with concrete actions to enhance the 14 factors printed on the playing cards. Three different games can be played by trainers, coaches, youngsters and other professionals who work with youngsters in sport. The project team developed a website www.keepyoungstersinvolved.eu with information about the project and the products. The most important products developed by the KYI-project are:- Infographic https://www.kenniscentrumsport.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/DEF-Factsheet-Keep-Youngsters-Involved_032019.pdf- 14 Factors to prevent youngsters from drop out https://www.kenniscentrumsport.nl/en/international-projects/keep-youngsters-involved/products-and-tools/- Web clips and small movies (you can find these in the 14 factors)- Manual - Toolkit (with the card games) https://www.kenniscentrumsport.nl/en/international-projects/keep-youngsters-involved/card-game/ The infographic, 14 factors, methodologies of the card games and the cards themselves are translated into 6 languages (EN, NE, PT, RO, FI, and FR) to make it as easy as possible for the target group to use it. During the project, many national, regional and local meetings were organised in the different partners' countries. Professionals who work with youngsters in sport and youngsters were invited and tried out the products. With their feedback the project group could improve the products. One of the important insights of the professionals was ‘to start talking with the youngsters instead of talking about the youngsters’ To get in impression of the meetings, have a look at: https://www.kenniscentrumsport.nl/en/international-projects/keep-youngsters-involved/national-meetings/At the final KYI conference in Amsterdam in 2019, 70 professionals from all over Europe and 30 youngsters from the Netherlands played the card game together. See the small movie to get an impression of the project and the tools: https://www.kenniscentrumsport.nl/en/international-projects/keep-youngsters-involved/national-meetings/Every partner organisation of the project has made a national or international (TAFISA) action plan for more implementation, dissemination, and impact.