Cultures and Practices

Cultures and Practices for Physical Activity

There is a culturally inclusive social environment for physical activity that enables people to have the freedom to be active in ways that suit them.

What does this mean and why is it important?

How physically active we are in our lives is shaped by what we intuitively feel is normal and expected for ‘people like us’. This may vary with the contexts of our lives, whether we are at work or school, with family, or engaging with wider interest groups and communities around us, as we tend to take our cues from the actions and attitudes of those around us.

How can we develop culturally sensitive policies and practices?

1. Review practices and cultures within local settings.
2. Consider how to include people with lived experiences of inactivity and representative of diverse communities in both paid and volunteer workforces.
3. Embed cultural awareness knowledge and skills into the training and development of employees, volunteers and community organisations.
4. Reflect on and review how we work with less active communities or groups to support changes in expectations and attitudes, both within ourselves, our organisations, and the people we work with.

An online learning seminar for this condition took place in May 2024 and a recording of this session can be seen below. The slide pack from the session and the Cultures and Practices Essence document are other useful resources.