Looking Back on Healthy Youth Week

Lots of attention for physical activity

There was a lot of attention for physical activity this week. In the Netherlands, you can be active anytime and anywhere. But how active children and young people are has mainly to do with the enjoyment they experience while exercising. Because you cannot start early enough, many municipalities took toddlers by the hand to participate in the Peuter4Daagse. In JOGG municipality Middelburg, Juvat ceremonially kicked off the event at childcare centre Walcheren. And in Limburg, 23 of the 31 municipalities took part in the Peuter4Daagse and Kleuter4Daagse.

National Outdoor Play Day

National Outdoor Play Day took place right in the middle of Healthy Youth Week. On this day, the entire country turns into one large outdoor playground for all children. In many JOGG municipalities, activities were organised where children played outside together and got moving. In Amstelveen, for example, the alderman opened Outdoor Play Day, a day full of sports and games, where Juvat also got the children moving. And in Zwartewaterland, they made it easy and fun for children to play outside.

Healthy food environment

We know from the research into the effective elements of JOGG that activities create support in the short term and lead to ownership and integration into policy in the long term. During the conference ‘Hollands Midden goes for a healthy food environment’, professionals from municipalities discussed health in and for all policies. Marjon Bachra, JOGG managing director, looks back on the conference with satisfaction: “The discussions at the conference clearly showed how much passion and determination everyone is demonstrating in working towards a healthy future for young people. It is essential to make the food environment healthier, and this requires collaboration and perseverance. We are doing this together with more than 220 municipalities and 1,000 other organisations. As a result, healthy choices in the living environment of 2.4 million children and young people are increasingly becoming the norm.”

Putting Great People in the spotlight

For many children, being healthy is not yet the norm. That is why we need more Great People who are committed to creating a healthier environment. In Noordoostpolder, five residents were thanked with a Great Person pin for their commitment and fantastic work over the past year. And thanks to the canteen volunteers in Tynaarlo, the football teams can now make a healthy choice in the sports canteen. In Stichtse Vecht, JOGG coordinator Sanne Meerman also put five Great People in the spotlight. Sanne emphasises the importance of these catalysts: “They are the adults who can create an environment where a child enjoys being active, a school where fruit is available every day, or a canteen with a healthy range of options.”

Next year, Healthy Youth Week will take place from 10 to 14 June 2025.