International physical literacy and the Big Apple

There's a saying that talks about travel being the only thing you buy that makes you richer, and that’s exactly how my colleague and I felt after visiting New York for work last week.

As part of our work to develop the first ever physical literacy consensus statement for England, we wanted to learn from other countries who were further ahead on their journey to build a movement around physical literacy.

Through our conversations with Sport for Life in Canada, they invited us to join the International Physical Literacy Conference (IPLC) to present on a panel and exhibit a poster showcasing our work on the subject and its link to our long-term strategy - Uniting the Movement.

The experience – unlike the four-hour waiting time on arrival to JFK airport –  was magnificently rewarding.

During the conference we realised our collaborative approach to developing a consensus statement was of real interest to colleagues across the globe.

We also had a true 'lightbulb moment' when a keynote spoke of physical literacy as something "that’s not taught, but fostered through the accumulation of positive movement experiences”. We learnt a lot at the conference and made some valuable international connections.
 

Some of our key take-aways included:

• Our work on physical literacy can – and will – contribute to the change we committed to in Uniting the Movement, and there are also proven opportunities to embed physical literacy across our organisation.
• International colleagues said our work feels well thought-out and progressive.
• Physical literacy is a philosophy that can drive significant change, but it needs people, places and provision to bring about effective change.
• There are opportunities for us to work together with other home nations to drive a movement in physical literacy, especially as the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have recently launched their own consensus statement.
• We’ve developed closer working relationships with the Youth Sport Trust and the UK-based International Physical Literacy Association (IPLA) - with both partners being key advocates of the ‘why’ of physical literacy across their spheres of influence.
• We need a clear and strong differentiation between physical activity and physical literacy as these terms are still used interchangeably but are different.