OLL’s election advocacy themes focus on everyday physical activity and Finnish representation in bodies promoting physical activity

“No less than 54 per cent of Finnish higher education students get too little exercise for the good of their health, with students spending an average of 11 hours a day sitting. Even with this figure, Finland is still one of the top countries in Europe in terms of physical activity. In 2015, the annual cost of insufficient physical activity in Europe was estimated at 80 billion euros,” says OLL president Mio Kortelainen.

The EU has no legislative powers within sports politics, but it supports and funds the promotion of physical activity in its member states through the European Union work plan for sport and Erasmus+ funding.

“The health benefits of physical activity are undeniable. The EU should also promote physical and mental wellbeing through physical activity,” Kortelainen adds.

OLL encourages members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to promote a physically active lifestyle through OLL’s three election advocacy themes. The themes are:

1. The importance of everyday physical activity and low-threshold physical activity should be increased throughout the EU in an inter-administrative way, alongside sport policy.
2. Funding opportunities for higher education institutions and other parties involved in activities related to students’ physical activity must be safeguarded. The Erasmus+ programme, among others, funds development projects and networking activities in higher education institutions.
3. Finnish MEPs should apply for membership of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) and other institutions relevant to physical activity and higher education students.

OLL is a member of the European University Sport Association (EUSA), which also has a student committee member proposed by OLL. OLL is a member of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), which is based in Switzerland and also has a Finnish representative on its student committee. In addition, OLL is part of the European Network of Academic Sport Services (ENAS) and has participated in European Week of Sport (EWoS) as an Erasmus+ partner, most recently in 2023.

You can follow OLL’s advocacy in the European election campaign at oll.fi/eu2024 and on OLL's social media channels.

More information
Mio Kortelainen
President
mio.kortelainen@oll.fi
+358 44 780 0211

Niko Peltokangas
Secretary General
niko.peltokangas@oll.fi
+358 44 780 0210