My move, my country – Iceland celebrated MOVE Week

06/06/2017 by Triin Ilves

This MOVE Week, UMFI pushed both its people towards a more active lifestyle and its local federal and local authorities to become a MOVE messenger.

With 150 Move Agents and 490 registered events, Iceland was once again one of the leading countries of this year’s MOVE Week. The name of the campaign in Icelandic – Hreyfivik – translates to “being in motion”, which is the essence of NowWeMOVE campaign. There was approximately one event for every seven hundred Icelanders, and the opportunity to get active was probably greater in this Nordic country than anywhere in Europe.

Throughout the week, UMFI held various events around the country that everyone could attend. In addition, they organised their annual competition between municipalities – 30 swimming pools signed up to participate in the swimming competition, Iceland’s NowWeMOVE National Coordinator Sabína Steinunn Halldórsdóttir from UMFI said.

The Hreyfivik campaign is not only promoted by UMFI. Partnering up with Krònan, one of the biggest grocery store chains in Iceland makes it almost impossible to miss the initiative. The campaign uses simple stickers on the floor that allow people to play skip hop. Together with a local beverage company, the thematic orange colour also appeared in various TV-commercials.

Halldórsdóttir added that wherever you look, you can find a MOVE Week event: in the capital, Reykjavik, a few associations for elderly people had orienteering days in the local botanical garden.

In Vik, a small community on the southern coast, the local police department partnered with MOVE Week and organised bike tour for the local children. The policemen taught children how to ride in traffic and act in various situations, i.e. how to cross the road.

In the western part of the country, locals were invited to join the early morning hike at 6am.New parents, who are probably always up early, were able to join the outdoor physical activity group and do some exercises with baby carriages.

In northern Iceland, another local hike was organised by the hiking club, where their local chairman was happy to share stories about the neighbourhood.

In the east, everyone could go for a swim as there will be free admission to pools.

One of the main partners for every MOVE Week are educational institutions. Háaleiti school that is known for promoting healthy and active lifestyle, has organised many events for the children. See what they did with the kindergarten children:

In total, 43,000 people and 60 towns participated in this year’s events. All the MOVE Week events are strengthening the local community and Iceland has become a country that is punching above its weight in physical activity promotion. Get inspired by its story and become a NowWeMOVE MOVE Agent in your country. Register here.