Health and Sports Campus of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region: Kick-off of the First Project under the HLT02 Health Programme

On 14 May 2026, the Bratislava Self-Governing Region (BSK) officially launched the project Health and Sports Campus – An Integrated and Innovative Model for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases with an opening conference. Supported by the Swiss-Slovak Health Programme, the planned Health and Sports Campus in Bratislava’s Petržalka district has now entered its next phase of development.

The Health and Sports Campus aims to establish a modern centre integrating sport, health, prevention, education and research. It will serve not only students and professional athletes, but also the general public, healthcare and sports professionals, and people living with chronic diseases. A key priority of the Region is the concept of a dual career, combining professional sports training with high-quality vocational education. The curriculum will include areas such as nutrition, recovery, body care, diagnostics, prevention and healthy lifestyles. Graduates will therefore gain not only a strong sporting background, but also practical knowledge and career opportunities in fields related to health promotion, disease prevention and quality of life.

The campus will also include a modern diagnostic centre, providing comprehensive services for people with chronic diseases. It will offer professional consultations, diagnostics, and support in prevention and healthy living. At the same time, the project will create a systematic prevention model connecting vocational education, lifelong learning, public services, applied research and cooperation with partners from various sectors.

According to the President of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region, Juraj Droba, “The Health and Sports Campus is a project that has undergone significant evolution over more than five years of preparation. What began as an ambition to establish a new sports school and hockey academy has developed into a world-class campus concept whose benefits, at some point in life, every one of us will appreciate. I am convinced of that.”

According to Barbora Lukáčová, the project’s mission is “above all to define an intersectoral prevention policy as an absolute regional priority, where the campus infrastructure and sport serve as fundamental tools for reducing the impact of chronic diseases and building a healthier society.”

In addition to the Health Campus itself, the Bratislava Self-Governing Region’s project includes a Health Ambassadors Programme for secondary schools. The programme introduces an innovative approach to promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing risky behaviour and strengthening young people’s mental well-being through systematic education of students and school staff, practical tools and a peer-to-peer approach.

The project will also focus on developing formal secondary vocational education programmes in prevention and healthy society-building that respond to the needs of the 21st century and labour market demands. Furthermore, it aims to establish a model for lifelong and continuing education for professionals in sport, selected healthcare professions and related public health fields, as well as to create an integrated public health support system focusing on obesity prevention and cognitive health.

The project ambassadors are Slovak athletes Ján Volko and Martin Homola. Key project partners include Comenius University, its Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, and the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

The conference opened with an expert presentation by the newly appointed BSK Prevention Coordinators, Dr. Daniel Chovan and Mgr. Daniel Plášek, who highlighted the importance and benefits of prevention from both medical and physiological perspectives. They examined prevention through the lens of major risk factors for non-communicable diseases, particularly obesity and cardiovascular diseases, which accounted for 45% of all deaths in Slovakia in 2025.

The speakers also drew attention to the growing problem of declining physical literacy among children and the loss of basic movement skills. As highlighted during the presentation, Slovakia’s cardiovascular mortality rate is currently more than 100% higher than the OECD average. However, the presentation focused not only on describing the current situation but also on proposing solutions — namely, bringing physical activity back into everyday life, especially for children and young people. Participants learned more about the role of movement in human metabolism and the effects of various physical activity interventions.

An important part of the programme was the panel discussion entitled “A Healthy Society Is Not (Only) a Healthcare Issue.” Participants included Dr. Daniel Chovan, Prevention Coordinator at BSK; Adela Penesová from the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences; Radomír Brtáň; and Tomáš Mihalík. The discussion focused on the role of primary prevention in reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases, the specific responsibilities of regional governments in building healthier communities, and the current health challenges facing Slovakia. The discussion was moderated by Mária Adamová.

The conference concluded with the official presentation of the Health and Sports Campus project by Ing. Matúš Krnčok and Ing. Marek Horváth.

In addition to the Bratislava Self-Governing Region’s project, the conference at the Arena Theatre also featured the City of Pezinok’s project Energy of a Healthy City and a presentation of activities carried out by the Regional Public Health Authority in Bratislava. This clearly demonstrated the collaborative and partnership-oriented nature of the programme under which the project is being implemented.

A central message that resonated throughout the conference was the recognition that healthcare systems are increasingly becoming systems for managing diseases — treating consequences while underlying causes continue to grow. Speakers repeatedly stressed that unless society adopts a proactive approach focused on preventing diseases before they develop, healthcare systems may become unsustainable, both financially and in terms of workforce capacity, particularly in relation to the growing burden of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

To conclude, one statement echoed strongly throughout the conference: the choice of scenario does not depend on the Minister of Health — it depends on each and every one of us. Through this project and its participation in the Health Programme, the Bratislava Self-Governing Region demonstrates its ambition to become a leader in connecting health and sport for the benefit of society.

As stated in his address by the Ambassador of Switzerland to Slovakia, Peter Nelson: “Today, the Bratislava Self-Governing Region demonstrates that a healthy society does not emerge by chance, but through systematic cooperation among regional authorities, experts, schools, the sports sector and communities. Swiss experience shows that prevention, physical activity and healthy environments are among the most effective public investments — delivering not only better health, but also a higher quality of life and stronger social cohesion. This project is also a practical example of how intersectoral cooperation can contribute to systemic public health solutions at the regional level.”