Muuvit » News

The International educational program “Muuvit” will be opened in Ukraine

muuvit — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:12:04 +0000

Within the framework of UEFA´s Respect your Health Programme in Poland and in Ukraine, Muuvit will be opened to local schools. A meeting with the Ukrainian Ministry for Education was held on January 11, 2012 at the Embassy of the Republic of Finland in Ukraine.

More information available here:

http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article?art_id=244860968&cat_id=244314975

More information to Respect your Health here: http://respectyourhealth.eu/

Muuvit at the UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine

muuvit — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 08:44:39 +0000

MUUVIT provides its educational programme for ”RESPECT your Health – Euroschools 2012”

(BERLIN, 9/11/2011) Founded in March 2011, Muuvit Health and Learning Oy Ltd. is a Finnish company operating in the areas of international education and health. Muuvit Adventure is a programme designed by Muuvit as a tool for teachers, authorities, sports clubs and companies to inspire children to get physically active and enjoy learning.

Muuvit Adventure will be applied within the framework of the UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine to deliver health education messages of the “RESPECT your Health - Euroschools 2012” programme to school children, teachers and parents, as well as the general public.

The RESPECT your Health programme promotes healthy lifestyles among children and their families, with a focus on smoking prevention, healthy diet, moderation in alcohol consumption, and encouraging physical activity. Coordinated by UEFA partner streetfootballworld, the programme trains schools, NGOs and local coaches to combine sport sessions with health education activities.

Johannes Axster, Director Partnership Development at streetfootballworld, states: “With levels of physical activity decreasing all over Europe, we are proud to welcome Muuvit as a RESPECT your Health partner. Muuvit will help give school children in Poland and Ukraine an amazing opportunity to set an example, get active every day, and learn about leading a healthy lifestyle in the run-up to the UEFA EURO 2012.”

Juha Villanen, Muuvit Health & Learning, is delighted: “We are honoured to have been selected to be part of the RESPECT your Health programme at the UEFA EURO 2012. The social power of football combined with educational and health goals is a very exiting mix and will allow us to make a sustainable impact on healthier lifestyles and the joy of learning. This also means that the Muuvit Community now can welcome new friends from Poland and Ukraine to join Finnish, German and Swiss kids in the adventure.”

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Following 11 years of successful programmes in Finland, the German version of Muuvit Adventure was launched in November 2010. It soon spread to 12 German federal states, Switzerland and Austria. It is being further expanded through pilot projects in UK and in the US. By the end of the present school year, Muuvit will have reached over two million children in several European countries.

Further information:

Anne Ruokamo, Marketing & Communication, anne.ruokamo@muuvit.com, Tel.: +49-(0)30-548 16 350, Mobile: +49-(0)157-714 26 494

Juha Villanen, Managing Director, juha.villanen@muuvit.com, Tel.: +49-(0)89-2601 0026, Mobile: +49-(0)172-300 5164

www.muuvit.com

Muuvit Adventure evaluated by the University of Bern

muuvit — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:32:06 +0000

Muuvit Adventure was evaluated in August 2011 by the Department of Health Research at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine of the University of Bern, with the assistance of Suisse Balance.

The goal of the evaluation was to assess the effort and benefit of the project for teachers, pupils and parents. The research method included telephone interviews with teachers and persons in charge at the cantonal action programme (Kantonales Aktionsprogramm KAP), as well as a focus group with pupils. Parents’ opinions were infered indirectly.

A summary of the results of the evaluation:

The implementation, materials and cooperation were viewed by all respondents as very pleasant and in terms of content, outstanding.
The relationship between effort and benefit was seen as very balanced. Preparation time for the teachers is minimal and the project is easily viable and integrated. It allows a variety of intense, full-scale approaches without losing sight of the goal.
The positive experience with the project has created an interest in and receptiveness of all participants towards further health projects. Each of them would recommend Muuvit to others and be happy to participate again with a new class.
Regarding sustainability, the programme still shows potential for improvement. However, in the evaluation follow-up it was pointed out that Muuvit has already been further developed in a number of areas since the evaluation.

“Muuvit implements a number of requirements for a good health promotion project in exemplary fashion. For example, cognitive and emotional elements are deliberately linked, an important target group is addressed, the effort (money, time, implementation effort) is reasonable for all participants. Media skills are developed, and at the social level with regard to both integration in the classroom and the inclusion of parents, the project received top marks.”

Quotes from teachers and pupils

Teachers

“Basically there is a good balance between effort and benefit, and preparation was easy. Muuvit is a great thing while it needs no additional organisation by teachers, as everything has already been set up and planned.”

“We chose the cities in a democratic way. Children suggested cities and supplied arguments in support of these, and the rest of the class decided if they wanted to go there or not. The social interaction in the classroom was really good. The children also visited the home countries of one another together.”

Pupils

“I noticed that healthy food is also tasty.”

“It was a lot of fun to become more active and sporty.”

New Muuvit Adventure online – now in English too!

muuvit — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:09:23 +0000

Muuvit Adventure is now bilingual and even more flexible after its recently completed re-launch. This inspirational learning environment has a whole new look, along with a new mascot. Valuable feedback from teachers and partners was used in planning the new platform.

More flexibility in access times

Muuvit Adventure can now be used for up to 30 days within a three month period, making it a lot more flexible. This means teachers can carry out the programme in one go, or spread it out over the whole period.

New languages, international scope and help in finding partner-classes

Muuvit Adventure is now available in English for the first time. The first English-speaking participants will be from Liverpool. The English version is accessible to everyone, so it can be used not only in English-speaking countries, but also for spicing up English courses, for example, in Germany or Finland.

The new online learning environment allows schools to seek out and network with partner schools and classes nationally and abroad. Schools wanting to locate a Finnish partner class have excellent chances in April 2012, since up to 160,000 pupils can enter the adventure at one time. Polish and Russian versions of the adventure are also in the pipeline, as Muuvit is going to be used as a school programme during the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship in Poland and Ukraine.

The vibrant new Adventure

The online Adventure, along with the printed materials, now has an exciting new look. Teachers will still receive the Teacher’s Guide per post around 10 days prior to their entry. There’s a brand new information poster for parents, which includes a small family adventure. Screentime now has its own dedicated section in the pupils’ updated exercise card.

> More on Muuvit for teachers

> More on Muuvit for public authorities and organisations

Muuvit and World Heart Federation sign worldwide co-operation agreement

muuvit — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:27:38 +0000

World Heart Federation and Muuvit Health and Learning Oy Ltd. publish their worldwide co-operation agreement on World Heart Day, September 29. The aim of the agreement is to combine resources and thus increase awareness of the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle – especially for children and adolescents.

Muuvit Adventure, developed by Muuvit Health and Learning, is based on the Sports Adventure programme run by an independent association Nuori Suomi in Finland. The goal of the programme is to motivate children and teenagers to be more physically active and lead a healthier lifestyle.

Common goals and previous co-operation encouraged World Heart Federation and Muuvit to work more closely together on introducing proven health programmes. Thanks to its global network, the World Heart Federation is active in over 100 countries through over 200 member organizations.

EURO2012 offers an opportunity to introduce this programme in Poland and Ukraine

As part of their cooperation, World Heart Federation and Muuvit will enhance the “RESPECT YOUR HEALTH – EUROSCHOOLS 2012” at the UEFA EURO 2012 competition in Poland and Ukraine. The ‘Respect Your Health’ programme promotes healthy lifestyles through football, focusing on anti-smoking, healthy eating and physical activity among youngsters and their families. The Muuvit Adventure will build on the popularity of football to maximize interest by encouraging participation from children, their teachers and schools.

Juha Villanen, Managing Director of Muuvit Health and Learning is thrilled: “Combining the network, knowledge and long-term health goals of World Heart Federation with our programme paves the way for the next generation of health promotion. It is truly an innovative and beneficial mixture!“. The English language version of Muuvit Adventure will be launched in the UK in October 2011.

Johanna Ralston, Chief Executive Officer of the World Heart Federation is convinced: “Starting with the heart health of children is central to our mission, and our partnership with Muuvit builds an important step forward. Muuvit has an outstanding track record of success with children, and our shared efforts around the common theme of football are especially vital in the coming year with the EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, where there is great passion for football but also a real need to reach children with messages around the importance of physical activity as a foundation for a healthy life”.

About Muuvit:

Successfully running programmes over the last 10 years within Finland, the German version of Muuvit Adventure was launched in November 2010. It soon spread to 12 German federal states, Switzerland and Austria.

About World Heart Federation:

The World Heart Federation is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to leading the global fight against heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, via a united community of more than 200 member organizations. Children are a very important target audience for the World Heart Federation who strongly feel a responsibility to put in place programmes that promote active health lifestyles.

More information:

Juha Villanen, Managing Director / juha.villanen@muuvit.com / Tel. +49-172-300 5164
Anne Ruokamo, Marketing & Communication / anne.ruokamo@muuvit.com / Tel. +49-157-714 26 494
www.muuvit.com

Alan Cole, Corporate Relations Manager / alan.cole@worldheart.org / Tel. +41-22-807-0328
Fabienne de Preux, Account Manager / fabienne.depreux@worldheart.org / Tel. +41-22-807-0344
www.world-heart-federation.org

World Heart Federation Childrens Toolkit Workshop

admin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:13:46 +0000

Muuvit participated in the World Heart Federation workshop at Geneva on the 9th of July. The Muuvit Adventure was presented as a good practice example at the Children´s Toolkit Workshop.

The Workshop was organized by the World Heart Federation, HRIDAY and Community Interventions for Health. Goal of the process is to build effective programs to improve children’s diets and make them more physically activ. This will enable individuals and groups to improve the health and life quality of their communities.

Maureen Mulvihill from Irish Heart Federation

Find out more about World Heart Federation: www.world-heart-federation.org

Sports adventure Muuvit starts the new school year with a complete re-launch

muuvit — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:54:51 +0000

Developed in Finland, sports adventure Muuvit first came to Germany and Switzerland as a pilot project in 2010. Reactions were so positive that Muuvit was soon launched in all of German-speaking Europe. In the course of this ‘internationalisation’, the entire platform has been given a whole new look. The English version of the online adventure follows this autumn.

Joy of moving and learning for kids

Muuvit encourages pupils to be more physically active, within the framework of an adventure carried out in schools. The programme takes into account the needs of both teachers and pupils: teachers decide, when and how they use the adventure in their class, whereas the joy of learning and moving is delivered to the children by the new media they love. For organisations from health and education Muuvit offers the opportunity to integrate their own programmes into an existing platform.

The central focus of Muuvit is the online-based virtual adventure, while at the same time the programme also encourages kids to spend less time in front of a screen. It is also possible to take part in the Muuvit Adventure without the internet – there is a poster map included in the adventure toolkit.

New Muuvit: fresh, fun, energetic and exciting

Muuvit now has a whole new look, as does the mascot and logo. The new Muuvit is fresh, fun, and exciting. The vibrant new colours, with the cheeky monkey mascot, create a lot of energy and the mix of realistic and surreal elements adds more excitement to the adventure landscape.

Muuvit.com website was the first entity to get the new look, with design and technical implementation carried out by Helsinki outfit, Redland.

The online adventure for schools is the next segment to be re-launched. The learning environment will have a clearer structure, as well as new content and features. Feedback from teachers and partners has been used to plan the new platform.

Muuvit Adventure will enable schools to network and seek out partner schools and classes both nationally and abroad. In addition there will soon be more flexibility in the programme: it can be used as as a three-week project or spread over three months. Technical implementation by Mooze Oy from Finland, with layout again by Redland.

Muuvit in English? Yes, in September!

An English version of the Muuvit Adventure follows this autumn, and the new language will enable even more ‘internationalisation’. First new country to enter will be Great Britain. Let’s Muuvit!

More on Muuvit:

www.muuvit.com/press

European Society of Cardiology reviewed programmes by Manchester United Foundation, UEFA and… Muuvit!

admin — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:29:36 +0000

ESC Press Release, 15 Apr 2011

Friday 15 April: Today a symposium held at the EuroPRevent 2011 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, reviewed some of the best examples of using football as a platform to encourage children to eat healthy diets and take regular exercise. The symposium “Professional Sports to Promote Children’s Health” heard about the differences that three different Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes across Europe have been making to the health of the next generation.

“For cardiovascular prevention it’s really important to get children moving and eating well from an early age,” said Erik Meijboom, professor of Congenital Cardiology at the University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland.
“Once they start liking exercise it becomes a routine part of daily activities which should remain with them for life.”
“The platform of football offers a tremendously effective population tool for getting kids active because it touches all levels of society,” said Patrick Gasser, senior manager for Football and Social Responsibility at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

Childhood obesity represents the most common childhood health disorder in Europe, with 22 million European children (one in five) estimated to be overweight and obese, and the number calculated to be rising by 400,000 each year. Overweight children are estimated to be three to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or a stroke before they reach the age of 65.
“The over presence of calories, the easy availability of fast food and the absence of physical activity are all combining to put children at risk of developing early cardiovascular disease,” said Meijboom.
Studies suggest that the emergence of atherosclerotic disease can occur early in life, with children displaying fatty streaks in their arteries, which can progress into plaque and narrowing of the arteries.
The factor which most deters parents from encouraging their children to exercise, said Meijboom, is the adverse publicity around sudden cardiac death (SCD). While it is accepted that exercise and intense physical activity through athletic participation increase the likelihood of SCD, these risks have been vastly over estimated.
Indeed a study undertaken by Meijboom for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2006, which reviewed 1101 cases of SCD that had occurred in athletes under 35 years between 1966 and 2004, found that 50% had congenital anatomical heart disease and cardiomyopathies and that 10% had early onset atherosclerotic heart disease.¹ “It’s evident that premature atherosclerotic disease is an important cause of sudden death in this age group and that children are much more likely to suffer from it if they’re obese and don’t take regular exercise,” said Meijboom.

Something to Chew on Programme

Andy Smith, from the Manchester United Foundation, presented the “Something to Chew on Programme” which aims to get eight year olds in the Manchester area leading healthier life styles.
The project, which was started in September 2008, involves a six week programme of sessions, with topics including diet and health, food safety, consumer awareness, food preparation, being active and football fitness and body movement control. In the programme (which was devised by a teacher, nutritionist and football coach) children undertake practical sessions, like making a sandwich, where they are encouraged to try all sorts of different foods that they might not normally come across, such as avocado, salmon, and peppers. Lessons are all delivered by coaches wearing the Manchester United kit.
The project, which was developed in partnership with the Food’s Standards Agency (FSA) and Salford City Council, targeted 51 primary schools across Salford, Trafford and the wider Manchester area. “What we’re trying to do is use the brand of football as an engagement tool to pass on health messages to young people with the ultimate message that you need to have a good life style to be able to perform at the highest level,” explained Smith, an executive manager with Manchester United Foundation. “If these messages have the backing of the Manchester United brand they’re instantly perceived as worthwhile by children.”
Evaluation of the programme showed that it has had a significant impact on the children’s behaviour, with results showing after participation children were twice as likely to have had breakfast as they were beforehand, that 27% felt more positive about eating fruit and vegetables, that agility and balance was improved, and that children reported a positive impact on their self-confidence. “What hit me most was that results showed the programme wasn’t only reaching the children, but also their families, with 28% of behaviour in the home changing for the better,” said Smith.

Eat for Goals

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) are trying to motivate children to improve their diets with a cookbook “Eat for Goals” featuring 13 healthy recipes created by 13 famous male and female footballers from across Europe. The book, which has been produced in over eight European languages, targets children aged between 5 and 11 and their families, with recipes including Carles Puyol’s pasta with pesto and grilled vegetables, Frank Lampard’s spinach with fruit and nuts, Heurelho da Silva Gomes’ pasta and tropical mixed salad and Steven Gerrard’s crunchy sea bream with herbs.
“Our assumption is that these kids get plenty of exercise through playing football, but now we want to introduce the notion that a healthy life style also involves healthy eating. We want to widen their horizons and teach them to value vegetables, salad, fruit and drinks low in sugar,” explained Gasser, who is senior manager for Football and Social Responsibility at UEFA. “The assumption was that kids would be interested in cooking the favourite meal of soccer stars.”

Muuvit Adventure

A number of football teams in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have been using the Muuvit Adventure as part of their corporate social responsibility programme to promote healthy lifestyles in schools. First developed in Finland over 10 years ago, the Muuvit Adventure aims to get children moving through a reward scheme that takes them on a “virtual” class-room adventure. The children collect virtual kilometres which are awarded for exercise undertaken both in and out of school, with each child issued a card that allows them to track physical activity throughout the day. Once the target number of kilometres has been achieved the class can decide where to “travel” online. “The idea is that the more they move, the more they see and the more exciting it gets,” said Mika Merikanto, director of international programmes at Muuvit, adding that organisations such as the World Heart Federation (WHF) and UEFA have also been using the adventure.
The adventure, he added, contains educational games and wide range of information regarding different countries. Healthy lifestyle is integrated into the Muuvit Adventure with each destination providing sports and nutrition tips to the class, with content from UEFA’s “Eat for Goals” cook book (see above) covered in the adventure.
Teachers also are given the flexibility to integrate the adventure into classes on physical education, data processing, maths, geography, biology and foreign languages. Schools that are really active have the chance to win prizes, such as having a famous footballer give a sport’s class.

“What’s been really important is that the physical activity isn’t just about sport, but all aspects of exercise, and it’s really vital that this continues after school. It doesn’t matter if the kids play football, or basket-ball or just go out for a walk with the dog,” said Merikanto.
A study by the University of Helsinki in 2006 showed that the goal of two hours of activity a day was achieved in 88% of children who had participated in the Muvvit Programme in Finland. “One of the most interesting findings was that it was the level of activity in passive kids that got raised most,” said Merikanto.
The adventure can also be used to build team spirit in class rooms. “In schools where there are lots of children from immigrant families we’ve found that it can really help understanding to get the class to travel to their countries of origin,” said Merikanto.
The scheme is currently aimed at children aged between 6 and 12 years, with plans to open it up to older children. “The biggest challenge is to persuade teachers to take on what they perceive as extra workload. But once they appreciate how much Muuvit can enrich their lessons they’re pretty convinced,” said Merikanto.
The Muuvit Adventure has already been launched in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, with an English language version scheduled to be launched on World Heart Day – 29th September.

Source: ESC

Authors:
ESC Press Office
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 94 86 27
Fax: +33 (0)4 92 94 86 69
Email: press@escardio.org

About the European Society of Cardiology
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) represents more than 68,000 cardiology professionals across Europe and the Mediterranean. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe.

Spring heralds the start of Sports Adventure at Finnish schools

admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:22:06 +0000

For the past eleven years in Finnish schools, the “Liikuntaseikkailu” or Sports Adventure has been an integral part of the arrival of spring. Since the Young Finland Association (Nuori Suomi ry) introduced the Sports Adventure in 2000, more than one and a half million school students have taken part. Now the adventure is going international.

Let’s Muuvit!

Every year Finnish school kids eagerly look forward to the beginning of April, which is when the ‘Muuvit’ program starts. This year it began on April 4^th. This keenly awaited event involves school kids undertaking physical sports activities every day, either together with their class or individually. Last year 172,000 students from almost 2,000 Finnish schools took part.

During the three-week Sports Adventure, students diligently accumulate crosses on their activities card, which are then credited to the class total points list. Once sufficient points have been accrued, the class can then head off for their next target city on the Sports Adventure map. This virtual journey can also be tracked on the website.

The adventure from Finland comes to German-speaking Europe

A special version of the Sports Adventure has been developed for German-speaking countries, with particular emphasis on the potential of the online Adventure as a learning environment. After its successful pilot phase, Muuvit Adventure, as this version is called, was introduced in the pilot countries of Germany and Switzerland. It was extremely well received.

In Germany, 16,000 children have taken part in Muuvit Adventure since November 2010. News of the new program, which leads to increased daily physical exercise and greater learning motivation, quickly spread to Austria. School authorities in the Salzburg region contacted Muuvit’s director Juha Villanen themselves, to ask whether they could take part too.

English version also to be launched soon

An English version of the Muuvit Adventure follows this autumn, with the official launch date on World Heart Day, 29th September 2011. The World Heart Federation is a Muuvit partner.

A uniform timetable in Finland, elsewhere a more flexible entry into the Adventure

In Finland, the Adventure runs simultaneously in all schools, this year from 4-21 April. In other countries, the program is not fixed to the Finnish timetable but can be started at any time desired. However, the Berlin Robinson primary school decided to begin the Muuvit Adventure on the same day as the Finns.

To mark the occasion of the introduction of the German language Muuvit Adventure, the program will be available to schools free of charge until June 30. Registrations can be made on the website: www.muuvit.com.

Friendships across borders

Muuvit Adventure has also allowed the schools taking part to make international contacts via the internet, like school kids from Munich and Helsinki, among others. Participating in Muuvit means the chance to make friendships right across national borders.

Over 3’000’000 Muuvit Kilometers!

admin — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:23:46 +0000

Lots of action in the Muuvit Adventure!

There has been tons of action since the Adventure was opened in November. Participating school classes from Germany, Austria and Switzerland have earned over 3’000’000 Muuvit Kilometers through exercising. This means over 300’000 Minutes of exercising! The average activity per children has been over two hours of daily exercise.

180’000 Finnish children will join the Adventure in April. Lets see if they can break this record!

Well done!