The Zoom conference opened with a welcome speech by the Slovenian headmistress Violeta Kardinar and the project coordinator Renata Jakič from the school in Apace. The participants showed each other presentations about their countries and introducing each partner school and region. In another part of the conference the school from Apache showed videos of their students in which school life, including traditional dances and songs, was presented.
In the following lecture by Dr. Tina Bregant, the participants were able to learn a lot about the connection between physical activity and the cognitive performance of young people. Dr Bregant emphasized the importance of physical exercise and healthy eating for children. Positive eating habits in childhood will influence the adult lives of today's teenagers. Dr. Bregant also stated that 80% of non-communicable diseases could be reduced if people started a healthy lifestyle from an early age. She names three bad habits for health: lack of sleep, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise. Also children should not spend so much time with media, cause it has affects for the children's development, the language and the social relationships. The schools should do more health education like activities outside of the classroom and with movement elements.
Another highlight of the first day was TRIMinute. TRIMinute are short video tutorials that contain physical-cognitive exercises and inspire people to participate. They were presented by Petra Ertl. She showed the participants how movements can specifically activate the brain and promote motivation, relaxation and stress reduction.
In the plenary session, the sports activities of the pupils in the different partner schools were discussed. Contents were the sports lessons, but also the food offers at the schools. The participants shared their own thoughts and experiences in a very productive discussion.
At the end of the meeting, the next steps of the project were discussed as well as the organization of the meetings and other activities.