What are you looking for?

The aim of the MOVE Congress 2014 is to promote communication and interaction among participants, speakers and moderators by using a blend of traditional and innovative methods and techniques such as:

• Keynote speeches (2): Open City – Active City from an urban and a social perspective

The morning plenary of the MOVE Congress 2014 will capture the essence of the Congress theme, Open City – Active City, from two different perspectives: urban planning and social aspects such as health and schooling. Our keynote speakers will share their insights in a lively and energetic format that will surprise you!  Last year our speakers were on bikes; this year… well, wait and see!

• Interactive parallel sessions (2): ‘Urban planning – Cities without barriers’ and ‘Healthy lifestyle’

The plenary sessions will each include three presentations which will be designed to engage you in a dialogue with the speakers and moderators. You will be asked to share your opinions, questions and examples with others by posting them in writing on our “Reality wall” (see below). The parallel sessions will apply Divergent Thinking and Active Listening techniques, putting a different spin on the traditional conference presentation format.

• Opening night “talk show”

In this popular opening session, you will see a talk show featuring live interviews with influential leaders from the host city, regional government and Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The seven special guests will be interviewed by Sean Blair from ProMeet, UK, who will urge them to think deeply and creatively about the outcomes we hope to achieve with the MOVE Congress 2014 and other important topics in grassroots sport. The talk show will set the scene for this year’s MOVE Congress and illustrate its main objective: To enable cross-sector collaboration to create real change and get more people active in cities around the world.

• Interactive debate and “Reality wall”

You will be asked during all Congress sessions to share your ideas, questions, comments and examples and post them on our »Reality Wall«. The wall will be a meeting point for all 300 participants after the parallel sessions and workshops and will be a tool for the moderators and facilitators to ensure that the outcomes of the sessions are documented in writing and followed up in the MOVE Congress 2014 Vision.

• Workshops (4) on specific topics: Active schools, Cities without barriers, Active ageing and Innovative mobilisation.

Each workshop will include three presentations of good examples from different countries and sectors. Each session will explore specific issues connected to the main topic. The moderators will lead the discussion between the presenters and the audience to reach a particular objective. All four workshops will document their conclusions and present them in the last 30 minutes of the plenary session to all other participants. This will give the participants an overview of all four topics. The outcomes of the workshops will be posted on the “Reality Wall”.

• Open Market Fair: read more here
• Closing session with Open Space methodology

The closing session will be organised in accordance with an Open Space methodology that allows all participants, speakers and moderators have discussions in smaller groups and address complex or possibly controversial issues. The participants will be asked to define a possible common working agenda which takes the MOVE Congress 2014 theme ‘Open City – Active City’  into account. The participants will be asked to finish the following sentence: “The project I’d like  to see carried out in my city or by my organisation is…”.

Methodology will have special rules envisage that participants can present specific proposals and projects and that just like in a marketplace they may move to the topics and groups that they may like most. Each person who makes the proposal has to guarantee the possibility of writing an instant report with the outcomes and main issues discussed by the group. The role of the facilitator and speakers will be very important as we would like to create the right atmosphere to engage all participants into the common working space and make sure that all ideas will be capture in the MOVE Congress 2014 Vision.

• MOVE Congress 2014 networking lunch

The MOVE Congress Outdoor Market will be the setting for two 1½ hour networking lunch breaks, on Thursday and Friday. The outdoor networking lunch is free for all Congress participants and tables will be reserved and named according to each Congress topic.

• Urban Orienteering:

The MOVE Congress 2014 venue will also turn into an open air arena on the first afternoon of the Congress when we explore the city of Rome. Congress delegates will be divided into smaller groups and taken on a guided tour along the river from the Congress venue to Rome’s City Hall, visiting historical sites and interactive “physical activity stations” along the way. To find out how an active city functions in real life, it’s only obvious to break out of the auditorium and experience the city first-hand!

• MUSIC and MOVEMENT

MUSIC and MOVEMENT breaks will add a lively intermission to all sessions. Be ready to MOVE to the MOVE Congress 2014 song and choreography. See the images and Congress video from 2013 to see some of last year’s choreography.

• Be Active in the City of Rome!

You will have the opportunity to run and walk with the ISCA and UISP Presidents on Thursday and Friday morning at 7.00. During this special “Run/Walk and Talk” session you can talk to them about burning issues in grassroots sport and enjoy a healthy breakfast afterwards. Are you ready to challenge our Presidents?

• Dance show and FlashMOVE at Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Square)in the city of Rome

This will be the reward for everyone who participates in the Urban Orienteering walk on Thursday afternoon from 15.00 to 18.00. Capitoline Square will turn into a dancing arena featuring gymnasts and MOVE Congress 2014 participants.