The University of Montpellier is a partner of the international conference "Les Enjeux des Jeux" (The Challenges of Gaming) from December 12 to 15, 2022.
With the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Paris 2024) approaching, which will take place in Paris in 2024, the University of Montpellier is organizing, through its research team "Health, Education, and Disability (SANTESIH), is organizing the international conference "The Challenges of the Games" in partnership with the Center for Social Research Sports, and Body Research (CRESCO, University of Toulouse III Paul Sabatier) and the ACHAC Research Group. It will take place from December 12 to 15, 2022, at the Corum in Montpellier.
Placed under the patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron, the conference will open on Tuesday, October 13, at 9 a.m. in the presence of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Minister of Sports and the Olympic Games, Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, Michaël Delafosse, Mayor of Montpellier, and Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier. Throughout the four days, researchers from the University of Montpellier and around the world will be able to exchange and debate scientific advances in the field and thus contribute to research in the humanities and social sciences of sport for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games aim to serve as a platform for youth education, the promotion of health through sport, and true equality between women and men, but also as a catalyst for ecological transition and a lever for action in favor of a more inclusive and supportive society. These ambitious objectives, which outline a political project based on the legacy of the Games, involve various stakeholders, all of whom are heirs to the Olympic spirit to a greater or lesser extent, and underpin a variety of goals and challenges.
The international conference "Enjeux des Jeux" in a nutshell
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee (COJOP) has clearly stated its ambition to organize the most inclusive games in history. In this exciting context, learned societies in the humanities and social sciences of sport have decided to jointly organize this multidisciplinary conference less than two years before the event. The aim of this conference is to analyze, question, and offer a critical and constructive perspective on this global event, positioning the debates at a fair distance from militant positions ("pro" or "anti" Olympic Games). The aim is therefore to identify the issues at stake (in terms of both expectations and impacts) in relation to the objectives set out by the Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee. To what extent do the detailed knowledge accumulated in each scientific discipline and the tools available (both conceptual and methodological) enable us to consider, support, and evaluate the multiple and complex effects of the Olympic and Paralympic Games at all stages of the process (before, during, and after)? What original perspectives in terms of research and public action is this multidisciplinary conference likely to open up? Can scientific debates around the Olympic and Paralympic Games be seen as a basis for reflection and the development of interdisciplinarity?
This conference will feature five plenary lectures, four round tables, 28 symposiums, and 104 other non-symposium presentations, bringing together experts for three days. It will help structure the scientific network for the coming years and contribute to research in the humanities and social sciences of sport for Paris 2024.
The role of the University of Montpellier in this conference
The University of Montpellier is internationally recognized for the excellence of its teaching, research, and capacity for innovation in a wide range of fields, particularly through its I-SITE Excellence program, which brings together all of its scientific and educational resources to address major societal challenges. But the University of Montpellier also enjoys recognition and legitimacy through its ecosystem centered on sport and the human body, notably with its internationally renowned European research center on movement, "EuroMov Digital Health in Motion," which is internationally renowned and aims to promote cross-fertilization between artificial intelligence, movement sciences, and health in order to understand human behavioral plasticity, improve sensorimotor performance, and develop new therapeutic approaches, as well as to find a scientific metaphor. The SANTESIH (Health, Education, Disability) team brings together social science researchers who study the dynamics of the processes that create and reduce disability, particularly through the use of physical and sporting activities. Finally, the Faculty of Science and Technology of Physical and Sports Activities (STAPS) is now one of the largest sports science faculties in France. By sharing values and a large number of common objectives with its partners, the University of Montpellier is thus positioning itself as a major player in the organization of this event and in the quality of the work that will take place. It is no coincidence that this international congress is being held in Montpellier, a region where sport is an institution and where a large number of disciplines are practiced at the highest level (soccer, rugby, handball, etc.), making Montpellier a Terre de jeux 2024 (Land of Games 2024) region.