Published: 27 Nov 2024

2024 #BeActive Awards: and the winners are…

Director-General Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen announced the winners of the 2024 #BeActive Awards at the annual gala in Brussels on 26 November.

An expert jury selected the most outstanding projects and people who excelled in promoting sport and physical activity in Europe this year.

The #BeActive Awards are a showcase for the European Week of Sport and the #BeActive campaign.

The 12 finalists participated in a competitive selection process. Each winner received €10,000, while the remaining eight finalists received €2,500.

Education category finalists and winner

Fair Play Point zs, Czechia
Sportunion Österreich, Austria
Município de Paços de Ferreira, Portugal

Sportunion Österreich took the first place with the project “UGOTCHI - Punkten mit Klasse”, an innovative initiative that fosters a healthy lifestyle among children based on a reward system.

Learn more about “UGOTCHI - Punkten mit Klasse”project

In the picture (from left to right): Director-General Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, winner of Education category - Sportunion Österreich, Andrea Milz, State Secretary for Sport and Volunteering – North Rhine-Westphalia (DE)

Workplace category finalists and winner

Métropole de Lyon, France
Olympiazentrum Vorarlberg GmbH, Austria
Association sportive de la Banque de France, France

The winner was Métropole de Lyon for their “Physical and wEllness balance Program for the Staff of Lyon Metropole” (PEPS) project which encourages all staff members, regardless of ability, to access wellness and physical activities either during lunch or at the end of the day.

In the picture (from left to right): Director-General Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, winners of Workplace category - Métropole de Lyon, Josip Pavić, State Secretary for Sport (HR)

Local Hero category finalists and winner

Bonny Madsen, Denmark
Jacek Łuniewski, Poland
Alessio Bernabò, Italy

The winner for this category is skipper Alessio Bernabò, who managed to empower individuals with disabilities to explore and engage in sailing with his Sailing Achievements Inspire Lives (S.A.I.L) project.

Meet Alessio Bernabò

In the picture (from left to right): Ioannis Vroutsis, Alternate Minister for Education, Religious Affairs and Sports (EL), winner of Local Hero category - Alessio Bernabò, Director-General Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen

Across Generations category finalists and winner

Fundacja Rozwoju Sportu Espanola, Poland
Associação Rede de Universidades da Terceira Idade, Portugal
FITA - Federazione Italiana Taekwondo, Italy

Receiving the first-place prize was Fundacja Rozwoju Sportu Espanola for its project ‘Ninos’ that unites different social groups and builds communities through exercise and promoting the values of fair play and non-discrimination.

More about ‘Ninos’ project

In the picture (from left to right): Director-General Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, winners of Across Generation category - Fundacja Rozwoju Sportu Espanola, Petar Mladenov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports (BG)