Towards a national movement

Starting with the initial municipalities in the Netherlands who have introduced the integrated community approach (144 in 2019, almost two-thirds of all municipalities), we want to create a national movement: “a healthy environment for healthy young people”- that all the municipalities and regions will want to join. At the same time, we want to broaden the settings to schools, sports clubs, the workplace, sports events and leisure activities, etc.

We have learned that if we want to scale up to national level then we need a more customised approach which is still based on the integral community-based approach. A customised approach requires flexibility on the part of our organisation and our people. Municipalities require different support and training or want to join JOGG to be part of a learning network.

Customisation for different settings is also required. Tools and programmes can be developed at national level and applied in the local situation on the basis of where or when they wish to start.

We realised that to scale up a more customised approach was needed. In terms of scaling up the movement, we start talking to municipalities by finding out what they are already doing, what they need in order to grow and what we can learn from them. From there we make a customised plan for support and training.

In scaling up for various environments, we learned from our ‘healthy school canteens’ programme and extended this to include healthy sports club canteens, healthy sports events and recreational settings (such as zoos), etc.

Together with the Dutch Nutrition Centre and stakeholders in the various environments, we developed guidelines for healthier choices for food and drinks. A single message tailored to a specific environment results in greater commitment. Drinking water, free movement and eating more vegetables are some of the themes we use in different environments.

Two-thirds of all Dutch municipalities are currently involved in the JOGG programme. They have implemented the integral community-based approach in neighbourhoods where the need is greatest or – in smaller municipalities – for the whole community. In places where communities prefer to work together in a particular area, we have made this possible as well.

An essential part of the integral community-based programme is changing the environment of our youth and the adults surrounding them. We have created tools and programmes for school canteens which include agreements with school caterers, for healthier sports events, sports club canteens, a healthy workplace and a healthy day out.