Meet Laura-Maria Tiidla from Estonia: An Inspirational Young Leader Fueling a Healthier Future

By Courtney Sunna, Co-Founder of the AstraZeneca Young Health Programme Alumni Group, a YHP Scholar, and One Young World Ambassador

This is the start of a series of LinkedIn Articles to be published under the same title which will feature some of the profiles and initiatives of the outstanding young leaders working towards better health. For more information on the relationship between AstraZeneca, One Young World, and the young leaders featured in these articles, please visit the first published article in the series.

Voices of Changemakers

Meet Laura-Maria Tiidla, an Estonian currently living in Stockholm, Sweden, who is Project Coordinator for the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA).

I met Laura recently during a trip to Stockholm, where she rode her bike to meet me at a greenhouse café hidden in one of Stockholm’s national parks. She introduced me to the concept of sport for all, which was a foreign idea to me and, according to Laura, still seems to be the case for many people working in the sport and health sectors.

We spent the day walking around Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm, with its well-preserved medieval cobblestone buildings and diverse architecture. Laura acted as tour guide in a city that she’s only lived in for a few months, providing historical information about Stockholm while telling me about her experience with One Young World and the ISCA. My phone recorded that we walked over 26,000 steps that day, a well-suited testament to our conversations about the importance of sport and physical activity for overall health and wellbeing.

What are you passionate about and why?

I am passionate about the concept of sport for all, which is the principle that everyone, regardless of age, gender, physical limitations or socio-economic background, has the right toaccess appropriate physical activity and sport. The highly professionalised sport world has grown into a huge business and it’s fairly exclusive. If a person has the means, there are hundreds of opportunities to get involved with.  But for those with lower incomes or who live in poverty, these opportunities are just not accessible.

Another cause that is extremely close to my heart in the sport sector is fighting for diversity: gender equity, diverse leadership and meaningful youth engagement in decision-making. We deserve more transparent, better governed and inclusive representation so that the sport world can keep up with the modern societal challenges.

What is the role that sports should play in society?

Sport and the world of physical fitness and activity should engage, inspire and excite people to exercise and be active and it should be accessible to all. I don’t think it should just be about providing entertainment for millions or billions of fans sitting in a stadium or in front of their screen. There is the potential for so much more! How could we leverage the unique power of sport and physical activity for greater health and societal benefits? This is the crucial question as we see the preventable risk factors and conditions that have fuelled the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic even further. Healthy lifestyle promotion needs to be included in the COVID-19 recovery plans.

“I am fighting for the concept of sport for all, as everyone, regardless of age, gender, physical limitations or background, has the right to appropriate physical activity and sport.” - Laura-Maria Tiidla

How does your organisation address this? 

I am incredibly fortunate to work in an organisation where, as a young professional, I can do meaningful work for a more equitable and inclusive sport world while having a say in shaping my role and tasks. It keeps the spark in my eyes when the organisational culture is open to new project ideas, crazy initiatives, partnerships and furthermore supports their fundraising and delivery. Through my work in ISCA (International Sport and Culture Association) I have an incredible global platform to work with over 250 organisations from 90 countries who are all committed to the same cause of moving people. 

How is your organisation adapting to working during the pandemic?

Like the rest of the world, we’ve had to move even more of our work online and support our members through this transition period. I think one of the best lessons I’ve learned is the value in sharing good practices from different countries as the challenges thrown at us by the global pandemic are very similar.

For example, the countries where lockdown limitations were lifted earlier shared how they managed their sport facilities and other countries could learn from that. The opportunities on how to organise PE classes online and how to reach the vulnerable populations with limited access to personal digital devices and internet. As global umbrella organisations, we can foster this knowledge between countries, continents and sectors.

What are you most excited about in the coming year, with regards to your work? 

Despite this grave crisis, I am simultaneously hopeful for all the opportunities and new developments I see in our sector. For example, the massive rise of active transport and the pop-up cycling infrastructure due to COVID-19 has been described as decades of activism materialising in a matter of weeks. It is unfortunate that it has had to occur under these circumstances, but I really hope that the health benefits of sport and physical activity will be appreciated at a higher political level as a preventive measure against non-communicable diseases.

I’m working on some exciting project funding proposals that I’ve been a part of, so I’d love to see those materialise and get to work on the implementation.

One of the concrete initiatives is an international Mentoring Programme in the Integration of Refugees Through Sport field that I will be coordinating for the next two years.

We have a chance to bring together less experienced and more experienced mentorship pairs from the sector for 12 months to help them develop, grow and incubate great ideas for the whole field. 

What advice can you give other young leaders who are looking to scale their projects? 

First question I would ask would be: Why would you like to scale in the first place? Sometimes a local community project works wonderfully just as it is because of its special role in that particular setting. But if you are certain that you want to scale it further and can give more without over-extending yourself in the process: Find your people – the supportive peers who are sharing your passion and an experienced mentor. Your peers will offer continuous support, keep your motivation going and share their learnings while a good mentor from the field can guide you and offer new insights that can help you grow professionally.

What do you like to do for fun?

I’m the kind of person who can’t stand still for too long-- I have the need to move all the time. So, I am channelling that into physical activity (swimming, running, cycling, bouldering) or alternatively turning to meditation.

During the coronavirus lockdown, I’ve realised how much I’ve missed being in nature, so now I am trying to embrace being outside in fresh air every day – ideally combining it with some form of active movement with friends.

Additionally, I love getting lost in a good book (I recommend Utopia for Realists) as it offers a kind of escape from all the other constant distractions of our age and forces a really deep focus on reading. One other fun thing I’ve recently been introduced to is building LEGO – a perfect social activity for a small group of friends. Try it out!

Thank you, Laura-Maria!

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Further Reading

• ISCA Initiatives in low and middle income countries include Youth on the MOVE, a project between European and Latin American grassroots sports leaders and the upcoming School Sport Day which will be held on September 25, 2020

More information about the AstraZeneca Young Health Programme

For more information on One Young World, please visit www.oneyoungworld.com

Related Articles:

• Introductory article to the series: Meet the Inspirational Young Leaders Who Are Fuelling a Healthier Future.
• Meet Joseph Dusabe from Rwanda
• Meet Vinicius Gaby from Brazil
• 2019 One Young World Impact Report
• Women and Still Underrepresented in the Sporting World by Laura-Maria Tiidla 
• New sports leaders fight for gender equality

Source: Laura-Maria Tiidla, connect with her on Twitter @lauratiidla

Contact person for this article: Courtney Sunna, courtney.sunna@gmail.com

Keywords: yhp, younghealthprogramme, astrazeneca, ncdprevention, youngleaders, futureleaders, nextgenerationleaders, impact, socialimpact, healthcare, diseaseprevention, innovation, social, healthcareleaders, oneyoungworld, oyw, rwanda, socialenterprise, betterhealth, isca, sportforall