LJUBLJANA, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia is to unveil an initiative called "Move Yourself and Exercise" to finance sport activities for adults over the next four years in a bid to improve public health, the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport said on Tuesday.
The ministry signed an agreement with the Olympic Committee of Slovenia which will provide various free-of-charge sports programs for adults.
The total value of the initiative is 4.4 million euros (4.92 million U.S. dollars). The state budget will cover 1.6 million euros of the program while the rest will be funded by the European Social Fund Plus, which is the European Union's instrument for investment in social programs.
"In this way we want to promote recreational sport and make it available to everyone," Matjaz Han, minister of economy, tourism and sport, told a news conference.
"By exercising, we take care of our physical and mental health and improve our life at work place, in our free time and within our family," Han added. He said that 52 percent of Slovenians are active in various sports and that this number should increase due to the initiative.
Citizens will be able to choose from numerous programs in 40 different sports. Each program will last for a total of 60 hours and include up to 28 individuals who will be guided by professional trainers.
"I am sure that once people start with sport activities they will never give them up," the head of the Slovenia's Olympic Committee, Franjo Bobinac, told the press.
Research shows that the number of citizens who do not exercise is rising across Europe, with a significant boost of non-activity being recorded during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
