Coca-Cola Foundation supports NowWeMove programme to encourage physical activity

Malta is one of the many European countries benefitting from the NowWeMove programme. The aim is to make different sport disciplines accessible to every strata of society and encourage people to maintain a healthy weight by incorporating a physical activity of choice in their daily lives.

NowWeMove is Europe’s biggest campaign promoting sport and physical activity that identifies, develops, celebrates, and upscales initiatives that deliver more physically active Europeans, thus contributing to the vision of 100 million more Europeans active in sport and physical activity by 2020.

Both the NowWeMove campaign and its flagship activity MOVE Week started in 2012 with the support of The Coca-Cola Foundation and have shown remarkable outreach and growth.

The campaign is centrally managed by the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA), locally implemented by SportMalta, funded with a two-year grant by The Coca-Cola Foundation and further supported by The Coca-Cola System (TCCS) in Malta, made up of The Coca-Cola Company and GSD Marketing Limited. This is another step by TCCS to be part of the solution to tackle overweight issues and the obesity epidemic by encouraging a balanced diet and a more active lifestyle.

Malta’s NowWeMove 2016 was launched earlier this week at a press conference by SportMalta at the National Pool in Tal-Qroqq, addressed by Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport  Chris Agius, SportMalta Chairman Luciano Busuttil, CEO Mark Cutajar, ISCA Secretary General Jacob Schouenborg and GSD Marketing Ltd General Manager Brian Galea.

NowWeMove incorporates around 80 community events over the next two years to promote physical activity among the Maltese population in a sustained, year-round campaign that highlights existing and new opportunities to engage in active, healthy lifestyles. The campaign launches today (May 1) with an Open Day at the National Pool Complex in Tal-Qroqq.

Move Week then kicks off with a major non-competitive event at the Ta’ Qali National Park on May 22, where families and friends are invited to engage in various sport disciplines, including walks, jogging, aerobics, fitness classes, inflatable games, football, rugby, bike rides, weightlifting and games for all. The key objective is to encourage people to commit to at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day, five times a week.

Other NowWeMove highlights in Malta include No Elevators Day, NowWeBike, European School Sports Day, European Fitness Day and Flash Mob.

“We recognise that the sustainability of our business is dependent on the sustainability of the communities in which we operate, “said Brian Galea, GSD General Manager. “From our perspective, we operate in societies, not markets. This is the reason why we are highly supportive of local communities programmes such as NowWeMove that contribute to our consumers’ wellbeing.”