National strategy(ies)
 

In Montenegro, there is no specific strategy that only applies to the sport, fitness and physical activity of young people. However, there are currently two national strategies that include measures for promoting the role of sport for young people and encouraging youth physical activity: the National Youth Strategy 2017-2021 and the Sports Development Strategy 2018- 2021 (more information on forthcoming policy developments are provided in Chapter 7.8).
 

The National Youth Strategy 2017-2021 (Strategija za mlade 2017-2021), adopted by the Government of Montenegro in September 2016, recognises that inadequate attention is being paid to the physical activity of youth. The strategy emphasises the importance of youth participation in sports activities through one of the key expected outcomes: “young people have good health, they are safe, have access to an adequate support system for transition to adulthood and self-realization, they are self-aware, innovative, showing initiative and accept diversity.” One of the measures for achieving this outcome is “supporting the development of young people’s psychological and physical health”.
 

Action plans for the implementation of the strategy were adopted and implemented for 2017, 2018 and 2019. At the time of writing this document, the two-year Action Plan 2020-2021 for the implementation of the strategy is in force. Within this action plan, one of the planned activities is “affirming youth sport”. Implementation of this activity is planned to be monitored by the following indicators: “number of competitions held”, “number of young people participating in the competitions” and “number of built or reconstructed objects”.
 

Monitoring of the implementation of the youth strategy was conducted in the period 2017- 2019. The main results in this area include support for development, reconstruction and adaptation of the sporting infrastructure in more than ten municipalities.
 

The Sports Development Strategy 2018-2021 (Strategija razvoja sporta u Crnoj Gori za period 2018-2021), adopted in 2018, states one of its main objectives to be encouraging students to engage with sporting activities. The main activities planned to achieve this objective include informing students about the importance of engaging in sporting activities, providing support to national sporting associations that deal with students’ sports and enabling conditions for students to engage with sport and participate in competitions. One of the main principles of the Sports Development Strategy is related to providing support to young sportsmen and sportswomen who have achieved great results.
 

The monitoring of the implementation of the strategy was carried out in 2020. The results indicate that 12 out of 14 planned activities were carried out in 2020. The main results outlined in the Report on Implementation of the Sports Development Strategy in 2020 directly concerning youth are related to financing reconstruction, adaptation and providing equipment for existing sports facilities and marking the European Week of Sport.
 

Until 2020, the Ministry of Sports and Youth was responsible for the implementation, coordination and monitoring of the National Youth Strategy and the Sports Development Strategy. In 2020, based on the Decree on the State Administration’s Organisation and Manner of Work (Uredba o organizaciji i načinu rada državne uprave) (Official Gazette of Montenegro, Nos. 118/2020, 121/2020, 1/2021 and 2/2021) the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and the Directorate of Sport and Youth took over the responsibilities in the area of youth policy.
 

As stated in  the prevention and control of chronic and infectious diseases Strategy the majority of non-communicable diseases and their complications are largely of a preventive nature. Promoting healthy lifestyles 90% of type 2 diabetes, 80% of coronary heart disease and 70% of strokes can be prevented. Effective public health interventions and policies aimed at reducing risk factors common to the occurrence of a large number of non-communicable diseases result in the improvement of population health, reduction of health expenditure and increase of economic productivity.
Success in the prevention of the epidemic of non-communicable diseases presupposes close intersectoral cooperation that promotes the improvement of social determinants of health and the adoption of healthy lifestyles, as well as the provision of universal health care.

Promoting and supporting sport and physical activity among young people
 

There are various programmes, projects and initiatives promoting and supporting sport and physical activity among young people. The European Week of Sports has been carried out four times in Montenegro, starting in 2017. In 2020, 37 sports events aimed at the promotion of physical activity and healthy lifestyles were organised throughout Montenegro. Along with the Ministry of Sports and Youth, which was the national co-ordinator, local governments, national sports federations and sports clubs took part in the organisation of events (Report on Implementation of the Sports Development Strategy in 2020). In schools throughout Montenegro, various sports events were held in the form of running races, handball tournaments, basketball, indoor soccer, volleyball and other sports activities.

There are also different projects and initiatives conducted by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) promoting and supporting sport and physical activity among young people, financially supported through public calls. For instance, in 2017, the Ministry of Sports supported the project Live Healthy, Walk Straight (Živi zdravo, koračaj uspravno) by the Association for Support of People with Disabilities through which a gym was provided with sports equipment for young people with disabilities so that they could exercise with their peers. Also, visits of young sportsmen and sportswomen to support them were organised. Recently, in 2020 a project called Be Healthy and Change Your Attitude (Budi zdrav, promjeni stav) was carried out by the Scout Association of Montenegro, supported through the state budget, aiming to empower young people to have a healthy diet and get regular exercise. Through this project, a survey among young people about their physical activities was done and a mobile application was created through which young people could more easily choose a place for physical activity in their vicinity (including hiking trails, outdoor gyms, bike paths and other sports facilities) and receive recommendations for exercises.
 

Monitoring and evaluation of the projects are carried out by ministries supporting the projects. Information about the results of the projects is available in the reports on the implementation of the Youth Strategy and Sports Development Strategy.

Physical education in schools

Physical education is a compulsory subject in all secondary schools, in both general and vocational education. The number of required physical education classes varies slightly by grade. However, in all secondary school grades, students attend two compulsory physical education classes per week. Teaching is done mostly in schools, but teachers are advised to carry out some classes in recreational centres, pools, at the seaside, in skiing centres and other outdoor spaces. Schools can also organise optional extracurricular sports activities.
 

Physical education classes are taught by physical education teachers with a university degree. Programmes of continuous professional development are offered to physical education teachers by the Bureau for Education Services and they are provided with training programmes.
 

Students of the first and second year of general secondary education have an opportunity to choose the optional subject “healthy lifestyles” (Zdravi stilovi života) which, among other topics, includes learning content on physical activity (more information is provided in subsection 7.4).
In tertiary education, student organisations are encouraged to organise activities to meet the needs of students for physical recreation (Article 111 of the Law on higher education (Official Gazette of Montenegro, Nos. 4/2014, 52/2014, 47/2015, 40/2016, 42/2017, 71/2017, 55/2018, 3/2019, 17/2019, 47/2019, 72/2019 and 74/2020).

Collaboration and partnerships
 

There are no specific policy initiatives nor programmes aiming to encourage partnerships between formal education providers, youth workers, health professionals and sporting organisations at the national level. However, the Law on gymnasium (Zakon o gimnaziji) (Official Gazette of Montenegro, Nos. 64/02, 49/07, 45/10, 39/13 and 47/2017) encourages secondary schools to plan co-operation with sporting organisations within their yearly work programmes (Article 18). Moreover, non-governmental organisations that conduct projects supported by public funds aimed at promoting sport and physical activity among young people often implement activities in partnerships with schools, health professionals and sporting organizations. One such example is direct support from the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, which referred to support for programs and projects implemented by NGO organizations in Montenegro.