Now that we are enjoying the best Olympics ever, everybody has started questioning if there is anything left for future generations. Children are inspired by Usain Bolt, Andy Murray, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and a long list of charismatic athletes. Children are excited by Sports as never before and we can not afford to loose momentum.
Sports either in a team or individually are very beneficial. Sports serve as an excellent physical exercise. Those who play sports have a more positive body image than those who do not. Sports often involve physical activities like running, jumping, stretching and moving about which turn out to be a good body workout. Playing sports is energy put to good use. Research shows that sports improve Math skills in children. Sports that involve aiming and hitting skills, for example, tennis, badminton, baseball and cricket help them increase focus. They help develop leadership qualities and foster team spirit in kids. They involve competition; they involve winning and losing. The benefits are endless.
When I started collecting TESTIMONIES two years ago, Taneesha Roberts, a mother with two children, gave me a very powerful testimony. She was very concerned about the legacy. She says: "So that's the kind of thing I'm worried about: I'd like to see something happen for the next generation. Having two children myself, you need to see something for the younger generation because if you don't have anything, it's not going to make a difference". Food for thought. I am very pleased that those concerns seems to become more relevant as London 2012 gains momentum.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has admitted that sports provisions for schools is patchy in some areas and more needs to be done. His comments follow the call by Lord Moynihan, the head of the British Olympic Association (BOA), for a major increase in Government funding to build on the success of Team GB at the London Games.
You can listen to Taneesha's testimony here. For more information on how to participate on TESTIMONIES, please read below.
TESTIMONES was created by the Spanish artist Lorenzo Belenguer in response to his local community wanting to become more involved in this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games. Selected by the Olympic Committee as a top 10 project from hundreds of others, it has been adopted as one of the Cultural Olympiad's key cultural projects.
This project takes raw interviews and testimonies from those who were part of the 1948 Games and are part of this year's Games, and shares these experiences in short videos. These videos will be, or have already been, broadcast in locations include the new University of the Arts at King's Cross, the Polish Cultural Centre and Soho.
Belenguer, who is also director of exhibitions at the Gallery Willesden Green BAR and has had his work exposed at the Tate Modern, explains that "this project's driving aim is to connect local people with one of the most exciting years in the history of London and create a dynamic conversation around the Games. The main question for us is: What kind of relationship do Londoners have with the Olympics? And we want this conversation to fill London's streets."
How can you participate?
Via Facebook:
Via Twitter:
For more information and listen to stories, please visit the website:
If you need more information, please contact Lorenzo Belenguer on:
Lorenzo.Belenguer@gmail.com