Québec en Forme promotes a healthy lifestyle
The Quebec government is well aware of the urgent need to prevent obesity and its related costs. Following the recommendations of the Perreault team, the government formed a partnership with the Foundation to find solutions to combat this widespread problem. This partnership led to the passing, on June 5, 2007, of the Act to establish the Fund for the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, part of the Investir pour l’avenir government program. A total of $480 million will be invested over a 10-year period ($240 million from the Foundation and $240 million from the Quebec government).
Until September 2010, the Société de gestion du Fonds pour la promotion des saines habitudes de vie was mandated to coordinate all the operations of the Fund and oversee the development and financing of national promotion projects (accounting for 25% of invested funds). The corporation entrusted Québec en Forme with the responsibility of supporting local community projects (accounting for 75% of invested funds).
On October 13, 2010, the Société de gestion du Fonds pour la promotion des saines habitudes de vie and Québec en Forme merged to create a new organization under the name Québec en Forme. This new organization continues to pursue its mission to help promote healthy eating habits and a physically active lifestyle among young Quebecers from birth to 17 years of age, and to support favourable environments. The objective of this merger was to harmonize strategies and synergize actions initiated by the organizations supported by Québec en Forme. It has also helped to simplify and synchronize operations.
Local community projects
Québec en Forme’s local partners operate in the following areas: municipalities, schools, health and social services, communities, leisure and sports, youth, early childhood, agri-food and employment.
The challenge faced by Québec en Forme representatives is to act as intermediaries between various local community stakeholders to facilitate the pooling and sharing of resources (to avoid duplication) and increase partners’ capacity for action.
The mandate of Québec en Forme is to create the conditions required to successfully implement projects in the community (such as assessing needs with local partners, ensuring shared willingness and working with regional partners to identify priority communities). These conditions enable local partner groups to submit project proposals to Québec en Forme in order to obtain support for their action plans.
As at the beginning of 2011, Québec en Forme was providing support for 125 local partner groups throughout all regions of Quebec. Its network is constantly expanding: the agency works closely with some 2,000 organizations in all 17 regions of the province, as well as several First Nation communities.
Regional and provincial projects
Projects of regional and provincial scope go beyond local communities to mobilize recognized, influential leaders in key sectors. These projects aim to:
- facilitate the realization of actions most likely to deliver powerful messages and encourage the general public to adopt healthy living habits, and
- create leverage for establishing meaningful new standards.
How to participate or obtain information or funding
To obtain information or to join a local partner group in your region, please contact the Québec en Forme development officer in your region. Check www.quebecenforme.org/?rub=58 for contact details.
For more information on submitting project proposals (including submission deadlines) and eligibility criteria, please consult the document regarding the terms for the support of projects based on the mobilization of local communities.