A UESPT PORTUGAL é uma Representação Permanente da UESPT (Union Européenne Sport pour Tous/ Sport For All European Federation).
A UESPT é uma ONG Europeia para o Desporto Social e é criada em 1998 por um grupo de cidadãos europeus constituído e que valoriza o acesso de todos ao desporto, o desporto simplificado e participado.
Este movimento defende a democratização e o acesso de todos ao desporto. Da proximidade de alguns dos seus fundadores ao Conselho da Europa, surgem as primeiras orientações sobre as politicas de saúde e bem-estar, com referencia à pratica da actividade física e desportiva regular. Portugal, desde o primeiro momento, posiciona-se na promoção de politicas de Desporto para Todos e na década de 80 do sec.XX realiza o 1.º Congresso de Desporto para Todos e cria um programa de Desporto para Todos na Direcção Geral dos Desportos.
Nos estatutos da UESPT, pode ler-se no seu artigo 4.º , que passamos a transcrever, a missão desta associação enquanto promotora europeia para o desenvolvimento desportivo – vertente Desporto para todos:
Art. 4 Mission
UESPT – The association, non-profit, works on and outside the European Union territories in an homogeneous way, following the aims here mentioned:
a) Promoting, according and with the collaboration of the Institutions of the European Union, initiatives aimed at the formation and the strengthening of the identity of the European citizens, valuing the different cultural identities which characterise the people of the Union;
b) Favouring the development of the education as well as the material, moral, intellectual and spiritual growth of the European citizens in order to promote different educational events and paths in accordance with the age. The access to the events is vouched for all the citizens and in particular for disabled people who could benefit of the educational programmes adapted to the skills of everyone assuring, at the same time, the wider participation at collective level;
c) Favouring the cooperation between schools, educational institutes, sports organizations in order to integrating the sports practice in the teaching, in a structured and sustainable way, guarantying the presence of sport as means to reach the objectives of the course of study;
d) Promoting an education to the values of freedom, understanding, tolerance, loyalty, respect and solidarity in order to develop an attitude devoted to an educational behaviour, respecting the cultural identity of each one;
e) Encouraging the education of an European awareness that is based on the principles of freedom and human dignity without any discrimination in terms of political, religious, economic or social beliefs;
f) Promoting, for the interaction and teamwork, the values of solidarity, tolerance and mutual understanding in different situations related to the search of Himself, in Himself with the Environment, in Himself in relation to others, favouring the development of cooperative behaviour and the adoption of a lifestyle that is inspired by the best possible use of physical and spiritual energy, with the aim of a common growth and progress, in harmony and mutual exchange of concessions;
g) Creating effective and long-term partnerships with different institutions like media, schools, voluntary associations, enterprises, public and local institutes, with the aim of spreading the educational action with sports disciplines, arts and professions;
h) Favouring the cooperation between educational institutes, sports organizations and public authorities, for the creation of educational paths replying to the needs of non-formal teaching, ensuring an exchange of practical improvements among the members of the participating Countries;
i) Developing procedures and tools to facilitate the identification, the creation, the authorization and the quality of the operators of the sectors of the arts and trades, professions and sports disciplines in order to foster peer recognition between national organizations of the EU member states in order to ensure better circulation of people, goods and services in full compliance with the consumer. Organising training courses and in-service training for Sport for All leaders; to create the most favourable conditions so that they can accomplish their task, and to promote the “Leaders without frontiers” programme. Favouring the professional development of the workers in the arts, professions and sports disciplines sectors in order to promote the activities destined to harmonizing the tasks that characterize it with the tasks requested by the European Union politics;