Change the Game steps up a gear – three new collaborative projects and a place on the international stage in France
During 2026, the knowledge centre Change the Game in Umeå is launching three new development projects on movement, participation and place development – funded by the Public Health Agency of Sweden, the EU’s Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme and Erasmus+. At the same time, the organisation will give a lecture and run a workshop alongside world-leading experts at the International Physical Literacy Conference in Toulouse, France.
Change the Game, which is run by Stiftelsen för rörelserikedom (the Swedish Foundation for Physical Literacy), works to ensure that everyone – whatever their abilities, interests or other preconditions – has access to movement experiences that are enjoyable, meaningful and valuable. The organisation is now taking its next step with three new projects, ranging from local activity initiatives in five Swedish municipalities to international collaboration on rural development and youth leadership across six countries.
– It is tremendously exciting that we have been entrusted with these major assignments. It shows how quickly interest is growing in the holistic view of people in movement that we base our work on, says Tom Englén, Director of Change the Game.
Three new projects – three different arenas
Få röra sig som de borde (“Move as they should”), supported by a grant from the Public Health Agency of Sweden, is a national development programme in which at least 500 children and young people facing disadvantage will take part in carefully designed movement activities. The activities will be led by at least 20 trained activity leaders in five municipalities: Umeå, Sundsvall, Nyköping, Kungsbacka and a municipality in Västra Götaland. The project runs from June to December 2026 with expert support from HUPR, Research Centre for Human Potential. More info >
CommUNITY MOVE is an Interreg Baltic Sea Region project set up to strengthen resilience in smaller communities through movement and inclusive placemaking. It runs from 2026 to 2028 with a total budget of EUR 500,000, of which 80 per cent is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The consortium is led by ISCA, the International Sports and Culture Association, and otherwise consists of Change the Game, DGI Nordsjælland, Gribskov Municipality and Pärnu Municipality, together with the Estonian competence centre CCPA – with Vännäs Municipality as an associated partner. Among other responsibilities, Change the Game leads the final work package, with responsibility for evaluating and finalising the project’s toolkit.
PLAY – Physical Literacy for All Youth is an Erasmus+ project (KA210-YOU) that introduces physical literacy into European youth work in order to strengthen health, self-confidence and inclusion among young people facing disadvantage. Together with its partners, Change the Game will develop a model for leadership training built on physical literacy. The project runs from October 2026 to March 2028 and is carried out together with Toulouse Université Club (coordinator, France), Športna unija Slovenije (Slovenia) and Istanbul Gedik University (Turkey).
Appearances at a world conference
In addition to the three new projects, Change the Game has been invited to give a lecture and run workshops at the International Physical Literacy Conference (IPLC) 2026, held in Toulouse, France, on 1–3 October. Under the theme “Stronger Together through Movement”, the conference brings together more than 70 speakers and 300 participants from over 30 countries – researchers, practitioners, decision-makers and urban planners who are collectively driving the global development of physical literacy. More info >
