President Milanović Meets with Organizers of Sports and Educational Project ‘Aktivna Hrvatska’
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović met today with the leadership of the Faculty of Kinesiology of the University of Zagreb and representatives of the ‘Aktivna Hrvatska’ (Active Croatia) project, which is taking place under the auspices of the President of the Republic.
Representatives of the Faculty of Kinesiology, headed by dean Mario Baić, indicated that the goals of the new leadership of the Faculty of Kinesiology of the University of Zagreb include further raising awareness on the importance of physical education in the education system especially since children in Croatia have a major obesity problem.
Speaking on the problem of youth obesity, they noted that the panel on children and youth obesity of Zagreb’s Faculty of Kinesiology revealed alarming data in terms of their weight. Croatia ranks seventh in youth obesity among 39 European countries, and the fact that the first seven countries are Mediterranean countries is cause for alarm. As many as 42% of boys that live on the coast are overweight and girls that live along the Mediterranean also rank first in terms of being overweight.
In light of this, they presented the leading Croatian sports and educational project ‘Aktivna Hrvatska’ launched in 2012 aimed at promoting a healthy active lifestyle. During the project’s ten years of activity, more than 100 cities and municipalities throughout Croatia were visited, more than 3,800 advertisements featuring data, educational messages and incentives to exercise regularly were published in the media. As the project’s main goal in 2023, they highlighted concern for youth with a special emphasis on children and youth obesity because, according to the latest data, as many as 35% of eight-year olds in Croatia are overweight.
Also attending the meeting with President Milanović in addition to dean Mario Baić were members of the Faculty of Kinesiology’s new administration: vice-dean for Education Dajana Zoretić, vice-dean for international cooperation and science Tomislav Rupčić, vice-dean for quality assurance and improvement Ivan Segedi, head of the Student Centre for the Education of Coaches Tomislav Đurković and representatives of the ‘Aktivna Hrvatska’ project, author Toni Dabinović, ambassador and manager Renata Sopek, spokesperson Anela Novina, manager of the coaching team Lukrecija Dragić, coach Patrik Kramarić and young athlete Anja Dabinović.
Alongside President Milanović were the Commissioner of the President for Sports Željko Jovanović and the Adviser to the President for Education Jadranka Žarković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas