Sport plays a fundamental role in our lives, beginning in childhood. Its beneficial effects are not limited to health, but also cover other aspects, such as social integration and inclusion. The National Day of Sport celebrated on 5 June, established by a directive of the President of the Council of Ministers on 27 November 2003, focuses attention on the issue, with an invitation to participate in the many initiatives implemented under the direction of the CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee), in coordination with the associations and other sports entities operating in the area and together with the local authorities.
The National Day is again designed to spread the message of how important sport is for the country's recovery. All the initiatives promoted under the direction of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) – aimed at both adults and the younger generations – are published on the Italian National Olympic Committee's website, in the dedicated news item.
To mark the occasion, we would like to mention some recent news, a number of reference websites and other materials that focus, in particular, on the topic of sport, children and adolescents.
Sport is at the centre of the activities of the Childhood and Adolescence Guarantor Authority's Council of Girls and Boys - a consultation and participation body made up of a group of young people aged between 13 and 17 - which met the Secretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers with responsibility for sport Valentina Vezzali at the Foro Italico in Rome on 3 May. The event is part of a shared reflection process described on the Authority's website, in the dedicated news item.
Also, worth a mention, is the Primary School Sports Day, which took place on 25 May at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. The event - organised by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Department for Sport and Sport and Health, an Italian public company that deals with the development of sport in Italy - was attended by over 1,800 pupils from the 5th classes of primary schools throughout the country, 200 teachers and 100 sports coaches. Great sports champions gave their testimonies, and speakers included the Minister of Education, Patrizio Bianchi, the Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers with responsibility for sport, Valentina Vezzali, and the President of Sport and Health, Vito Cozzoli. Information on the initiative is available on the Ministry of Education website, in the dedicated news item.
Among the panorama of websites, we would like to mention the Department for Sport's website of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, which also contains information concerning children, and in particular the page dedicated to the Technical Table for the Safeguarding of Children in the World of Sport, set up by decree of the same Department on 17 November 2020. Another relevant site is Sport and Health, which contains a section dedicated to schools, students and teachers.
Also to be consulted are the websites of the aforementioned Coni, where there is a section dedicated to school-based projects, and those of associations and other entities involved in sport: the Italian Paralympic Committee (in particular the section dedicated to schools); the Italian Culture and Sport Association (Aics); Uisp
Lastly, we suggest the thematic path dedicated to play, sport and education from the Rassegna Bibliografica 1/2011 - a quarterly review of bibliographical information on childhood and adolescence issues, which was established in 2000 through the collaboration between the Istituto degli Innocenti of Florence, the National Centre and the Regional Documentation Centre for Childhood and Adolescence of the Region of Tuscany - and the following study materials selected from the A. C. Moro Innocenti Library: bibliographic research on children, adolescents and sport; bibliographic research on motor education; bibliographic research on psychomotor education.
Other materials and news can be found on this site under the Sports topic, which can be reached from the "Topics" navigation menu.