NIKE reinvigorates 'olympic villages' for rio's young athletes

rio olympics: NIKE has announced that it is partnering with the city of rio to reinvigorate 22 sporting sites in neighborhoods across the brazilian metropolis. building on more than a decade of community impact work in brazil, and based on insights about rio and its youth, the initiative seeks to encourage kids to become more active, breaking a cycle of physical inactivity. many of the ‘olympic villages’ are found in the city’s most under-resourced areas, where safety concerns and a lack of infrastructure limit mobility. to help combat these issues, NIKE is also revitalizing the villages’ youth programing with training and equipment for PE teachers, ensuring that the city’s young athletes opportunities to pursue their potential.

a children’s play area within caju olympic village

over the next five years, NIKE’s goal for the 22 olympic villages is to increase access to sport and physical activity from 25,000 kids to 50,000 kids; equip 600 PE teachers and staff to deliver early positive experiences; give 1,000 employee volunteer hours per year; and provide 40,000 pieces of product and equipment per year. four of the villages — encantado, caju, clara nunes, and mato alto — have been fully renovated with new sport installations and graffiti art by local artists.

to understand more about the initiative, we spoke with jorge casimiro, vice president of global community impact for NIKE, who explained more about the project.

vibrant areas of a graffiti at caju olympic village

designboom: the olympics last for a few weeks, but this is a five year program?

jorge casimiro: we have a long history of working with communities to get kids moving in brazil and around the world, and we know that creating real, meaningful community impact takes more than a few weeks. we’re thrilled that the rio games will help elevate the importance of our five-year partnership with rio and it’s 22 olympic villages, and our commitment will continue after the games, with the goal to deliver transformative experiences that get rio’s kids moving and inspire them to fall in love with sport for life.

the artwork has been completed by by local artists

DB: how important is the length of the commitment in securing a genuine legacy for rio after the games?

JC: today’s generation of kids is the least physically active in history, and brazil’s kids are the least active in latin america. we want to change that. together with the city and the olympic villages communities and partners, we’re hoping to transform the culture of sport for the next generation of athletes in rio. to set that goal in motion, we are building on our decade-long impact work in brazil with this partnership with the city of rio.

the encantado olympic village prior to its renovation

JC (continued): our five-year partnership will focus on creating this legacy for 50,000 kids—currently there are 25,000 kids participating in rio’s 22 olympic villages. we’re revitalizing the villages’ youth programming to ensure the city’s young athletes have a sustained opportunity to pursue their potential. this means that every village will receive training for its staff to deliver effective and quality youth programming. we know that community members play an important role in nurturing the love and long-term culture of love for sport and physical activity, and making these changes long-lasting. the villages will also receive 40,000 NIKE product and equipment items each year for five years.

a run taking place at the encantado olympic village

JC (continued): in addition, the villages of encantado, mane garrincha (caju), clara nunes and manoel jose gomes tubino (mato alto) will be revitalized with updated spaces, equipment and graffiti art by internationally renowned local artists (kajaman at encantado, toz at caju, panmela castro at clara nunes and bruno big at mato alto). these villages will host inspiring brand activations like NIKE run club and NIKE training club, and volunteer engagement with local NIKE retail employees — NIKE community ambassadors – for 1,000 hours each year. (the revitalizations of encantado, caju and clara nunes are complete, with mato alto to finish after the games.)

a multi-use arena is positioned beneath the overpass

JC (continued): additionally, together with partners, we will support measurement and evaluation to help the villages see what is effective and understand the impact they are having on the kids and their communities. for us, legacy means that more kids are having fun with sports and have an opportunity to lead happier and healthier lives. we hope that physical activity becomes a part of their everyday lives – and that it becomes part of their lifestyle for the rest of their lives.

the venue at encantado can host a range of sports, including soccer and basketball

DB: in what specific ways is NIKE committed to reversing the growing trend of physical inactivity?

JC: today’s kids are the least active generation ever. NIKE believes in the power of sport to move the world and unleash human potential. but the world is moving less and less, and the current generation of kids is the least physically active ever. NIKE is committed to reversing this physical inactivity trend. that’s why NIKE works to get kids (ages 7-12) active early and for life, because active kids are happier, healthier and more successful. our work is global and local, and we have a number of projects with community partners all over the world, including in brazil, europe, china and the U.S., with thousands of people being benefited by these projects that provide positive, early experiences in sport and physical activity to help kids get active early, for life.

shipping containers have been used to contain indoor programming

JC (continued): for example, in brazil, we have reached more than 60,000 kids as part of our commitment announced at the 2013 clinton global initiative and in the U.S., we teamed up with michelle obama’s let’s move! active schools initiative to reach more than 10 million kids across 50 states. in china, we recently celebrated a memorandum of understanding with the ministry of education in china to get 2 million kids moving in china. this commitment builds on a three-year partnership between NIKE and the ministry of education which has catalyzed change in china’s schools.

NIKE’s commitment will continue long after the games are over

DB: in the continued success of these projects, how important is the role of PE teachers and staff?

JC: the PE teachers and staff at the villages are key to fueling and motivating kids to participate in sport and maintain active lifestyles, so much so, that a key deliverable for all of the 22 villages is a two-times-a-year training for five years for all 600 of the 22 village’s PE teachers to deliver the very best sports programming for the kids in their village. this is why NIKE is partnering with experts in sport programming for kids to train the coaches and staff at the villages. these partners include bola pra frente institute and esporte & educação institute (IEE). in addition to that training, we’re providing product to equip each of the olympic villages.

the encantado village also hosts a skateboarding bowl

DB: do you feel that the initiative can be applied to other regions of the world?

JC: absolutely. there is unlimited potential for us to take the innovative approach we’ve created here in rio to other parts of the world. this approach—training PE teachers to deliver positive experiences in sport and physical activity for kids, designing spaces that foster a love for movement, volunteering by our passionate employees and connecting to inspiring brand moments—was designed to inspire and motivate rio’s olympic villages communities to celebrate and foster a love for movement among brazilian youth and we’re already beginning to find ways to bring it to other parts of the world.

graffiti art has been used to create a vibrant backdrop

JC (continued): the key difference anywhere in the world, however, will be the most effective way to bring the approach to life. in rio specifically, we worked with the city, community representatives, youth experts, NGOs, local artists and others to learn about the barriers keeping its kids from getting active: brazilian kids play less than 1km from home due to safety; though passionate about football, they crave a diversity of physical activities; and girls are often left out of sport. our commitment to the olympic villages was born from these insights, and also recognizing that each olympic village is truly a haven for their community where transformation can begin.

the clara nunes village prior to its renovation