In autumn, Jõulumäe Sports Centre, in cooperation with Pärnumaa Sports Association, will offer school groups a free 90-minute cultural education programme titled “Movement Supports Mental Health and Young People’s Quality of Life”. The programme combines a mental health lecture with experiential and engaging physical activities in Jõulumäe’s natural and sporting environment.
The aim of the programme is to raise young people’s awareness of the connection between mental health and physical activity, and to offer a valuable learning experience in a natural environment.
To identify the most relevant mental health topics and the most suitable physical activities for the programme, Lily Allas, Member of the Management Board of Jõulumäe Sports Centre, carried out a workshop with young people from Pärnu County. The aim was to gather input directly from young people and design a programme that truly meets their needs.
Lily Allas, Member of the Management Board of Jõulumäe Sports Centre:
“We invited both basic school and upper secondary school students from Pärnu County and the city of Pärnu, from smaller and larger schools alike, so that different young people could share their views and help create a programme that is genuinely needed by them.”
Kaisa Aasa, CEO of Pärnumaa Sports Association:
“Physical activity is one of the simplest ways to take care of your mental health. Movement may not solve every problem, but it often makes solving them significantly easier.”
As a result of the workshop, young people highlighted the following as the most important mental health topics:
- Sleep and its importance in supporting mental health
- The impact of social media
- Maintaining motivation
- Burnout and anxiety
- Mental health and noticing those who may need help
The physical activities young people recommended for the programme included:
- Trying new sports and physical activities
- Adventurous active activities
- Movement combined with thinking tasks and problem-solving
- Team games
Applications for the programme will open at the beginning of September. We will share further information on our social media channels and website. The number of places in the programme is limited.
The cultural education programme is a support measure of the Ministry of Culture, enabling more than 54,000 students across Estonia in 2026 to take part in free cultural education study visits to cultural institutions.
With the help of this support measure, programmes are created that are linked to the national curriculum and help bring learning outside the classroom into diverse cultural and sports environments. The free programmes support young people’s creativity, worldview, physical activity and well-being.
The visits are primarily aimed at schools and classes that do not usually have access to national cultural institutions due to the location of the school or the special needs of students. However, if places are available, schools located closer to the institutions are also welcome to take part.
Transport costs related to participation in the programme can be covered through the Culture Backpack measure.
Thank you to the students from the following schools: Audru School, Vändra Gymnasium, Pärnu Kuninga Street Basic School, Pärnu Sütevaka Humanitarian Gymnasium, Pärnu Ühisgümnaasium and Pärnu Koidula Gymnasium.
