The Physical Education School scholar from the PUCV, Fernando Rodríguez, was a part of the creation of the guide called: “Active movement to school. Guide for families, Educational Centers and Public Policy”, a document that offers practical orientation to public institutions and decision makers to promote various forms of sustainable and healthy movement in the community.
The initiative is framed within the work of the Iberoamerican Network for Research on Active Movement, Health and Sustainability (RIIDASS, for its name in Spanish), comprised by specialists in Spain, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Brasil and Mexico. The network was born in 2020 thanks to European funding that allowed to consolidate this research line, centered on promoting everyday movement habits such as walking, riding a bicycle or other means propelled by human energy.
According to what the professor explained, this guide is created as a tool that seeks to “make available to local authorities, school principals and professionals from different fields a simple, clear and practical document that will provide strategies and examples to encourage active movement in institutions and communities”.
The scholar emphasized that the proposal responds to an urgent need, since currently only 20% of the world population meets the minimum physical activity recommendations, which has a direct effect on people’s health and quality of life.
The document gathers experiences from different countries, from European initiatives to cases developed in Chile, Colombia and Mexico, showing various strategies that can be implemented in local contexts. “The guide is not centered on competitive sports, but on everyday physical activity. It is about an accessible and sustainable way of improving health, and at the same time, reducing pollution and urban traffic levels”, the scholar explained.
The creation of the guide was an interdisciplinary process that included the participation of specialists in architecture, medicine, geography and physical activity sciences.
In its final stages, the scholar led the organization, design and dissemination of the document, also securing the support of the International Affairs General Direction at the PUCV, which funded the graphics production. The design was in charge of Professor Tanya Ahumada, from the Physical Education Department, who collaborated on the visual development of the publication.
The scholar also highlighted the support of PUCV Editions, since they took care of the paperwork for registering the guide with copyright, intelectual property and ISBN online, ensuring the formalization and protection of this academic resource.
The Guide was officially presented mid-September of 2025 within the context of the 2nd RIIDASS Congress organized by Porto University in Portugal, an opportunity in which the international network presented this material that is already being disseminated in various universities, academic networks and public institutions in Iberoamerica.
The guide (in Spanish) can be read HERE.
By Florencia Basualdo
Faculty of Philosophy and Education
