Round Up of Day 2 of Active London

Day 2 of Active London, supported by Gympass, saw the number of registered delegates surpass 600 with six more inspiring and informative sessions and a lunchtime workout for delegates with TRX, inspired by #NationalFitnessDay.

All Active London 2021 content will be available on-demand for 30 days following the event to allow registered delegates to revisit and review all 12 keynote sessions and workshops. 

Here’s a round-up of Day 2:

Young Women and Sport: Breaking down the barriers

Our first session kicked off with Selma Bennehar, Mariline Luyeye and Zeniece Hall from Badu Sports. This session explored the barriers young women face in sport, and advice for organisations on making their teams and workforce more inclusive. The advice was that your organisation should reflect those who you are trying to work with. Create positive role models who your target community groups can relate to.

“Sports has always been the one thing that people couldn’t take away from me, no matter how hard they tried” - Mariline Luyeye (Badu Sports)

Removing the Stabilisers: Community approaches that promote walking and cycling for all

Our panel in session two discussed how walking and cycling can be made more appealing and accessible for the all Londoners and investment in relationships can be a key driver of success. This also leads to better understanding of the people's lives who you're trying to engage with.

“Giving people a stepping stone to feel like ‘I can do this’ can help them have confidence to go to places where they don’t normally see themselves.” - Temi Lateef (My Choice)

In-conversation with Jeanette Kwakye

Jennie Rivett of London Sport then sat down to interview our host Jeanette Kwakye. The discussion covered Jeanette’s experience in Beijing 2008, and her time spent on the other side of the track as a journalist at Tokyo this summer, as well as her lived experience of sport and physical activity in London.

“We need to help people understand the benefits of sport and where that can take you, and stay as connected to the passion as possible."  - Jeanette Kwakye

Using social prescribing to create 'Thriving Communities'

Delegates then learned how social prescribing can be a revolution in well-being. Social prescribing is not just about exercise referral, but how the sector builds relationships with other sectors (such as health or the arts) and thinking about it alongside a patient-centred approach.

“Not just about those individuals, but also the communities they live in. How we can learn from the pandemic and work with those communities through social prescribing” - Tracey Lines (National Academy for Social Prescribing)

Go where the people are: Promoting activity in non-traditional spaces

Our final session of the Active London conference looked using non-traditional spaces across London for community engagement in physical activity. Panellists explained how community engagement is key to using non-traditional spaces, particularly as a way to bring the community together.

"We don't want it to be an intimidating gym environment. We want it to be somewhere where people feel comfortable" - Steve Phaure (Croydon Voluntary Action)

Missed any of our Active London conference? Join us on-demand to catch up on the past two days.