Over 300 leading decision-makers and experts from across the world are attending the gathering, overseen by UNESCO and hosted in Baku by the government of Azerbaijan.
A team of five Loughborough University academics – Prof Paul Downward, Prof Richard Giulianotti, Prof Paula Griffiths, Dr Oliver Hooper, Dr Serhat Yilmaz – have also been invited, under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair in Sport, Physical Activity and Education for Development, which is based in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences.
A large number of Loughborough colleagues have played a key role in the preparatory work for the conference. Dr Rachel Sandford, Dr Hooper, Prof Downward, Prof Griffiths, Prof Lorraine Cale, Dr Julie Stirrup and Damith Chandrasenage provided the analysis and recommendations from a global UNESCO survey into ‘quality physical education’.
Their report, co-authored with UNESCO, will be delivered at MINEPS, and provide the basis for establishing global policy in this area.
The Loughborough participation at MINEPS VII will also include special speaker slots for Prof Griffiths and Prof Downward at the roundtable on ‘Impact Investment in Sport’ where they will summarise the findings of the Quality Physical Education Report and outline some of the needs in providing quality data to monitor Impact Investment in Sport.