On February 12th 2019, the University Sport Centre of Padova (CUS Padova) hosted the Kick-off meeting of "Sport Opens School", the project that aims to enhance the teaching of physical education in high schools, taking advantage of the positive role that sport can play as a tool for education and as a catalyst for positive universal values. Funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union, "Sport Opens School" is a two-year project which will involve four high schools called to act as "pilot": "Newton - Pertini" Institute of Higher Education in Camposampiero (Italy), Budapest VI. Kerületi Kölcse y Ferenc Gimnázium (Hungary), Liceul cu Program Sportiv Bacau (Romania) and Instituto N.ª Sra da Encarnação - Cooperativa de Ensino, Benedita (Portugal).
The goal to be achieved is the creation of an innovative teaching module that physical education teachers will experiment in the pilot schools to increase the participation of teenagers in sport. The new teaching module will be based on three main pillars: health education; fair play education; and development of skills and abilities necessary for the personal fulfilment of young people and their future employability. The quality of the new teaching program is guaranteed by a multidisciplinary team of trainers made of representatives of the European Athlete as Student network (EAS), the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), the School Inspectorate of Bacău County (ISJ Bacau) and CUS Padova, as well as, by a participatory approach that will allow teachers of physical education and their students to be directly involved in all stages of implementation.
The Kick-off meeting in the University sport facilities involved Laura Capranica of the European Athlete as Student network (EAS); Marianna Pavan, Daniela Drago and Mario Massimo Ferrarese (CONI - Italy); Ana Maria Rotaru and Mihaela Frant (ISJ Bacau - Romania); José Vinagre (ECB - Portugal); Szilvia Ferenczi (KFG - Hungary); Annalisa Caicci (Newton-Pertini - Italy); Francesco Uguagliati, Marta Gravina, Riccardo Garavello, Laura Brazzarola, Carlo Frangioni (CUS Padova - Italy).