The event was organised by the School of Sport Education NT who are aiming to bring the territory together to raise awareness of the benefits of physical literacy – often explained as building the skills to help us lead active lives.

“This was a culmination of almost two years work in the Territory after undertaking a physical literacy approach back in 2021,” School of Sport Education NT’s Fiona Campbell said.

“We’ve formed a lot of connections across agencies and across sectors in the NT and that is what we’re hoping to achieve is to grow that network across the NT.”

Discussions revolved around how physical activity can improve health, education and community-based outcomes in the Top End and how they can tailor physical literacy approaches to their own work.

The summit included presentations from the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), who led the development of Australia’s first co-designed national sport participation strategy.

Director of Sporting Schools Jamie Bradnam said the summit was a great opportunity for the ASC to work with the sector to help more Australians be physically literate.

“Building a healthier generation of more active Australians is a key initiative of the Play Well Strategy as we aim to ensure that physical literacy is a core component of every child’s development and education,” he said.

Driver Primary School pre-service teacher Zara Ruhl says they are already seeing these benefits in action.

“Some of the benefits we’re seeing relationships that have been built in the classroom and outside of the classroom, development of physical skills and overall confidence in the children when participating in physical activity.”