2019 International Leisure and Sports Forum, sponsored by Zhejiang University and hosted by the School of Education of Zhejiang University, World Leisure Center of Excellence and World Leisure Organization, was successfully held on 15^th October. More than 60 experts and scholars from 9 countries attended the forum.

The opening ceremony was presided over by professor Zhou Lijun, associate dean of College of Education, Zhejiang University and director of World Leisure Center of Excellence. Chen Weiying, deputy director of the office of global engagement of Zhejiang University, delivered her address to welcome the guests and introduced Zhejiang University briefly. Roger Coles, president of World Leisure Organization, introduced the members of the board of World Leisure Organization and its development status, goals and mission. Afterwards, professor Zhou Lijun introduced the College of Education of Zhejiang University, then presented the construction process and current situation of World Leisure Center of Excellence. Ms. Cristina Ortega, secretary general of World Leisure Organization shared the ten research groups and fields under World Leisure Organization.

Topic 1 Leisure and Society

The topic Leisure and Society was moderated by professor Richard Hayes from the university of Georgia. Professor Atara Sivan of Hong Kong Baptist University and associate professor Lv Jiaying of Zhejiang University delivered speeches respectively.

Atara Sivan shared research on teenagers’ choices and participation in leisure activities. Based on a questionnaire survey of 832 students in 10 Hong Kong secondary schools, she believed that teenagers' participation in leisure activities has a potentially important impact on their future development. Teenagers' interest in leisure activities can meet their psychological needs and interpersonal needs, and enhance their sense of belonging. Atara Sivan also pointed out that schools should pay attention to leisure education and help teenagers choose their preferred activities to support their leisure development. Focusing on the elderly suffering from depression in China, Lv Jiaying explored the impact of residence changing on depression among the elderly, as well as the impact of leisure participation on depressed elderly population. The findings suggested that residence changing may increase the risk of depression by contributing to problems such as broken relationships. At the same time, participating in leisure activities can effectively alleviate the depression caused by the residence changing.

Topic 2 Leisure, Sports and Technology

Marie Young from University of the Western Cape moderated the second topic Leisure, Sports and Technology. Stephen Anderson from East Carolina University, Professor Wen Xu from Zhejiang University and doctoral student Song Xian from Zhejiang University gave the key note speech.

Stephen Anderson Shared the achievement in virtual reality technology used in leisure behavior intervention, used actual cases to analyze how to use virtual reality navigation simulator in disabled people’s leisure intervention, and designed a treatment plan. Wen Xu discussed the relationship between physical activity and health under the background of big data and artificial intelligence. He started with the background of the global shift from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases, and a lack of physical activity that can lead to a variety of diseases. Based on this, he proposed how can big data and artificial intelligence change physical activity and health? Then, he introduced the concept of smart wearable devices, cardiodynamicsgram and computer vision. He also showed the application of this artificial intelligence in physical activity. Focusing on the intelligent sensing technology in the human movement science, Song Xian elaborated the functions of the intelligent sensing technology in the collection, processing and analysis of signals. He also introduced the application of the intelligent sensing technology in sports fields such as rehabilitation training of hand fine movement and lower limb movement.

Topic 3 Leisure and Landscapes

In the afternoon, the forum began to discuss the third topic -- Leisure and Landscapes. This topic was moderated by Cristina Ortega, Chief Operating Officer of World Leisure Organization. The speakers were Professor Miklós Bánhidi from the Szechenyi University, Györ, Hungary, professor Lawal Mohammed Marafa from the The Chinese University of Hong Kong and professor Yvonne Klerks from Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.

Miklós Bánhidi introduced the definition of smart city and defined 8 key aspects of smart cities, like smart governance, smart energy, smart building, smart mobility, smart infrastructure, smart technology, smart healthcare and smart citizen. Then, he put forward The LEISURE DEVELOPMENT INDEX, which can be considered as an optional method to evaluate a project development, and needs to be proved by scientific measurements. At last, he shared some European smart city models projects and his idea about future smart city.

Lawal Mohammed Marafa’s research focused on the understanding the concepts of tranquility in rural tourism. He first introduced the concept of tranquility, then pointed out characteristics of tranquility spaces and characteristics of soundscape. His thought tranquility should be considered in urban park planning and designing and managerial practices.

Yvonne Klerks introduced Breda University of Applied Sciences and its three main research projects. The first project is designing and managing experiences, including Storysperience project and Run for Health Project. The second project is making places and shaping destinations, including overtourism, sustainable development of tourism destinations and products, and etc. The third project is people and goods on the move, including cycle highway innovation.

Topic 4 Leisure and Sports

Professor Ling Ping from Hangzhou Normal University moderated the last session with the topic of Leisure and Sports. The speakers were Huang Cong, the researcher of Zhejiang University's “Hundred Talents Program”, Liu Lucen, the postdoctoral fellow at Zhejiang University, and Associate Professor Qiu Yajun from Zhejiang University.

Huang Cong shared the study of whether adiponectin is beneficial to muscle health. It is believed that adiponectin may be used for the prevention of diabetes on one hand; on the other hand, adiponectin rise causes a decrease in fast muscle cells, leading to muscle’s weakening, causing the risk of disability or death. This risk is particularly acute in the elderly. Studies have shown that adiponectin is a double-edged sword for human muscle health.

Liu Lucen's research focused on New Zealand's Maori culture, showing the impact of New Zealand's local Maori culture on sports and risk perceptions from the perspective of risk cognition, interaction between human and nature, and gender dimensions of risk in the form of ethnographic narratives.

Qiu Yajun shared recent researches on serious leisure activities, including the qualitative study of female serious leisure sports characteristics, the serious leisure characteristics and behaviors of Chinese marathon runners, the serious leisure characteristics and motives of Chinese marathon runners, and the flexible leisure restrictions of marathon runners and etc.

Besides, for every session of the forum, the participants and speakers had heated Q&A discussions on each topic. At the end of the forum, experts and classmates shared new ideas on the theme of the forum. On behalf of the World Leisure Organization, Chairman Roger Coles expressed his gratitude to the scholars for their wonderful presentations and the hard work from the organizers.

This International Leisure and Sports Forum is an academic feast for scholars to exchange the latest achievements and applications in many fields. It providesinspirations for future researches, and a platform for communication and cooperation between interdisciplinary fields. The forum was sponsored by the School of Social Sciences of Zhejiang University and received lots of support from the university and the school.

Edited by Wang Yan, Deng Ruyue and Zheng Xiatong

Photo by Zhou Yuyan

October 23, 2019