“GOGA is ahead of its time” - Annual conference overwhelming success
On Thursday 18 May, we held our Get Out Get Active (GOGA) eighth annual conference in Birmingham. Local and national GOGA partners and stakeholders came together to celebrate the programme’s approach to getting disabled and non-disabled people active together.
Every year, people, who work tirelessly across our GOGA locations, attend and showcase their work. This year, the conference celebrated how GOGA is creating healthier, happier and more connected communities through co-production and collaboration.
Spirit of 2012’s Chief Executive, Ruth Hollis, welcomed attendees and opened the conference by talking more about the theme and GOGA successes.
The Get Out Get Active conference is an absolute highlight of my year. We at Spirit of 2012 see GOGA as pivotal to the UK’s physical activity crisis. We will always be a strong advocate and ally of the approach. The conference highlights stories that consistently show that the GOGA way works.
Attendees enjoyed panel discussions, question and answer sessions, and took part in a special GOGA Zumba session, led by instructor Charm, based in Nottingham.
During the event, panel discussions included local partners, participants, and activity leaders. The panel discussions focused on impact and co-production. We heard how GOGA has changed lives, communities, and organisations through collaboration. Key takeaways from the panels were building and creating trusted relationships, being honest and understanding and learning when things fail.
During the conference, people took part in two themed networking sessions, discussing how to share impact and influence other projects within the physical activity sector. The other networking session saw people considering how they would pitch the programme and to prospective funders.
At the end of the event, we saw the programme funders, Spirit of 2012, Sport England, and London Marathon Foundation reflect on the programme and how to maintain momentum.
Closing the conference, Adam Blaze, Activity Alliance CEO, reflected on his journey with the programme.
GOGA uses activity for good and we can’t underestimate the impact of the programme. GOGA is ahead of its time, and you can find the answer through adopting the GOGA way. Today has shown us that there are endless possibilities for the future of the programme.
We are extremely proud of how localities continue to use the GOGA way to create healthier and happier communities through co-production and collaboration. We are excited to see how our partners build on the learning from the programme as we look to the next phase.
Thank you to everyone who attended and made the event an overwhelming success.
About Get Out Get Active
Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is a programme that supports disabled and non-disabled people to enjoy being active together. Activity Alliance is the creator and lead partner. The programme is funded by Spirit of 2012, Sport England and London Marathon Foundation.
