Lecture by Carolina Klüft

From a sports career to events

The story of Carolina Klüft took off when she established herself in the world elite in heptathlon as a young woman. She had her breakthrough at the 2003 World Championships, winning gold, and subsequently became one of the world's most prominent all-rounders. During her career, she won several championship medals, including Olympic gold in Athens 2004. Her personal best in heptathlon is 7,032 points, which is both a Swedish record and a European record.

In addition to her successes in heptathlon, Klüft also competed in the long jump and triple jump, and she still holds the Swedish record in the triple jump. She was awarded the Jerring Prize in 2002 and the Svenska Dagbladet Merit Medal in 2003.

Program host and expert commentator

After her active sports career, Carolina Klüft has worked both as a program host and – above all – as an expert commentator at major athletics championships, where she has contributed analyses and expert knowledge.

Since 2019, she has been the operations manager of Generation Pep.

– My journey is about going from a sports career to where I am today. To use what I have experienced and gone through as an athlete in the work at Generation Pep.

Generation Pep's mission

Generation Pep is a national initiative launched in 2016 by the Crown Princess Couple to improve the health of children and young people. The background is the increasing sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits among young people in Sweden.

The organization works knowledge-based and collaborates with schools, municipalities, authorities, businesses, and civil society. The focus is on creating long-term conditions for daily physical activity and healthy eating habits.

Among their initiatives are:

– Pep Skola, a free support for schools that want to develop their work with movement and health
– Pep Report, a survey of children's health and lifestyle habits in Sweden
– Knowledge support and tools for educators and decision-makers
– Inspiration and campaigns to increase movement in everyday life

The organization's work is not only about individual activities, but also about influencing societal structures so that it becomes easier for all children to live active and healthy lives.

Challenging systems and structures

Generation Pep believes they need to challenge the systems and structures around children and young people that do not support their physical health, such as the conditions for physical activity and the availability of good eating environments. They want to be involved and contribute to a more socially sustainable society where children's rights are respected and enforced.

– The biggest challenge is to move from knowledge to action and make courageous decisions that lead to long-term change. We know a lot about these issues today, but now we need to translate them into innovative and courageous decisions and actions. The connection with GIH is very important, as much of the work we do is based on knowledge that comes from GIH's important work.