There is a prevailing tendency to view local councils as a governmental entity that takes care of the pavements, collects garbage and other random things which one might complain about at the council offices. Unfortunately, this prevailing tendency has been with us for quite some time in spite of the genuine efforts made by our mayors, councillors and council staff, who strive to provide a sterling service to their communities.
The public might think that this is all councils do and overlook the wide range of responsibilities entrusted to local councils, one of which is sport. In fact, the Local Councils Act requires local councils to “organise sports activities for all residents of all ages, co-operate closely with the sports associations from the locality, to provide good sports facilities and organise such sports activities as are not normally organised by local sports associations”. Therefore such obligation does exist and councils are obliged by law to be involved, and involve the population in sport.
One way in which this can be done is by engaging the community, or part thereof, in a sporting project or sports-related activity. There are already an encouraging number of councils who hold such activities and more can be done by being innovative in our approach, first and foremost by searching for funding avenues that are currently eluding a number of councils. One such avenue is EU funding.
EU funds have proved to be an important source of alternative funding for local councils and on their part, councils have engaged wholeheartedly in these structures. In fact, over the years, almost every council has benefitted from such funds, and my appeal today is for councils to consider EU funding to engage with their communities through sport.
One such avenue is through the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission which aims at addressing sport at grassroots levels and, among others, supports activities aiming at developing the European dimension in sport by promoting cooperation between bodies responsible for sports.
Through this programme, councils can create and develop European networks, create opportunities for cooperation among stakeholders as well as exchange and transfer knowledge and know-how in different areas relating to sport and physical activity. This effectively means that councils participating in this programme are encouraged to engage in cross-border cooperation in order to foster sporting culture in their communities as well as help their local sportsmen and women, as well as members of their communities who do not usually engage in sports.
Thus activities are encouraged to promote voluntary activities in sport, together with social inclusion, equal opportunities and awareness of the importance of health-enhancing physical activity, through increased participation in, and equal access to sport for all. Furthermore, through cross-border collaborative partnerships, even those of a small scale, or through the organisation of not-for-profit sporting events, this programme aims at tackling cross-border threats to the integrity of sport, such as doping, match fixing and violence, as well as all kinds of intolerance and discrimination in addition to promoting and supporting good governance in sport and dual careers of athletes
The Commission believes that such cooperation will notably have positive effects in developing the potential of Europe’s human capital by helping reduce the social and economic costs of physical inactivity; this belief fits perfectly with Malta’s aims to reduce obesity across all age groups of our population.
Thus, I wholeheartedly appeal to regional committees, local councils and administrative committees to explore the opportunities afforded by this programme and engage with their communities through sport.
Dr Buontempo is Parliamentary Secretary for Local Councils