TEDxSalford

Post-Olympic Inspiration in the North West

What is common to a weight management group in Wigan and an Olympic athlete?

The Games are long gone and the post-Olympic blues prevails, but the legacy lives on, touching also the communities in Greater Manchester. With all the hype and a massive multi-billion budget, some may ask what benefits have the Olympics brought to the local communities. Inspire projects light up many lives around the UK.

The Inspire Programme has credited more than 2,700 projects in the North West alone. The London 2012 initiative, launched in April 2008, recognizes innovative projects spanning culture, sport, education, sustainability, volunteering and business. The projects inspired by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games cover every nation and region of the UK offering a minimum of 20 million opportunities to join.

Several fine examples such as The Reporters’ Academy right here in Manchester show how The Inspire Programme is contributing to the local communities. The creative production environment provides young aspiring journalists and media personnel with facilities and professional support to guide them towards the career of their dreams.

“I have experienced what being part of a media outfit is really like; this has inspired me to do journalism at university.” Crew member Gemma, aged 17

Another Inspire Project provides support for children and their families when it comes to weight management, and does it free of charge. An initiative of Wigan Council combats the steady rise in childhood obesity by encouraging young people aged 5-17 and their families to take part in 12-week lifestyle programme focused on healthy way of living, nutrition and physical activity.

‘The Games inspires me to get everybody involved, however they can, in
sport. If everyone in the country did sport every week, no matter how little, it
would really show to the world that we are a motivated country and that the
Olympic and Paralympic Games are a representation of that.’ Adam Jones, Junior Sports Leader & Torch Bearer

Top 9 Facts about Inspire Projects:

1. Over 10 million people have been involved in an Inspire project (1 in 6 people in UK)
2. 72% of projects would either not have taken place with the same scale or profile if London had not been chosen to host the games.
3. 94% of projects have an element of participation, showing that Inspire Projects are about getting actively involved in activities.
4. 55% of projects have got people involved in cultural activities for the first time
5. 7 out of 10 projects have got young people involved in sport for the first time
6. 83% of projects have got people from local communities involved in the Games
7. 77% of projects have encouraged volunteering
8. 60% of projects have boosted awareness of disability sport
9. 57%/over half of projects have helped to divert young people away from crime

The initiative have been received well and 9 out of 10 project leaders have been inspired to run similar projects in the future. Most of the Inspire projects are expected to run after the Games.

Sources:

London 2012: Inspire Programme Key Facts and Figures

London 2012: Inspiring Stories from around the UK

The Reporters’ Academy Manchester