Moviendo is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) formed five years ago by a group of friends under a not-for-profit cause, which consisted in giving solutions to our concerns for improving social justice. When we began this project, we did not know what our objective would be, nor how or with whom we would work, however, we did know that we wanted to contribute with our endeavors to transform the society in which we lived. Thanks to several conversations and observations from generous collaborators, we gradually developed our organization. In the beginning, we thought of focusing on a labor that had sports as its center, understanding it as a social tool, although none of us was an expert athlete, we all had some link with it, especially, since we recognized the social dynamizing potential that sports have in neighborhoods, schools, and communities of different types. Nevertheless, we were not completely satisfied with something, it still seemed to us to be an area somewhat distant from our own reality. It was at that time when we asked ourselves what troubled us about the country we lived in, and the answers were several: inequality, exclusion, injustice, how could we work on all these major issues in such a limited space with such a diverse group of people?

So we addressed the points we had in common: we felt that our way of life, not only individually, yet collectively, did not allow us the possibility to enjoy ourselves, to be with our friends as much as we wanted, that we were sitting for long hours in offices, that when we had time for relaxation, we did not have money to pay for entertainment, and even when we did have the money, we did not have the time for it. We were observing our neighborhoods and the lives of our friends, we saw that their children had more than plenty of homework, that the parks were not filled, and life was for many a continuous back and forth to work. That was what affected us and although it may seem that there are many other issues more urgent than leisure, we felt it was necessary to make this problem visible and we thought that this was our chance to contribute.

This is how we decided to work for the right to leisure and position ourselves to understand it not as a waste of time, yet as a space from which it is possible to improve life, strengthen ties and transform society. NGO Moviendo promotes the right to leisure, especially through the practice of sports, physical activity, recreation, and social gatherings. This vision implies that contrary to the most widespread view in our society of leisure as something undesirable, we consider that leisure can be a space for redefining enjoyment and social development. We understand leisure as a space to exercise free and voluntary activities. In addition, we recognize its physical and psychological benefits, at an individual and collective level. The NGO promotes especially the instances of leisure in encounters with others, as a place where, from the enjoyment, strengthen community ties and contribute to building a more human society.

As in many other dimensions, in the practice of leisure, we also find gaps and inequalities, social vulnerability, violence, disability, and gender, among others, that can make it difficult for people to have spaces for recreation and enjoyment of social life. It is in this context that our concern arises to work, particularly with people who have been most excluded from this possibility.

Our role, so far, has resulted in the development of sports-recreational projects generated together with children from the Felipe Camiroaga camp in Forestal, Viña del Mar, Chile. Two initiatives have originated, as a result: the School of Movement and the Movement Club, both programs that aim, within a non-formal education framework, to generate leisure opportunities through the practice of sports, physical activity, and recreation, providing a space for meeting, learning, and social participation. In both, we work from a participatory approach that allows children to be part of the process of creation and enjoyment of recreational activities and also with a collaborative logic with other organizations that have supported us in implementing the ideas of the children and volunteers with whom we cooperate with.

The initial team of the NGO was formed by: Ignacio Castro, David Catalán, Camila Daza, Pablo Fuenzalida, María Paz Gálvez, and Felipe Palomero. Those who were part of the founding team that formally formed the organization when it obtained its legal status were: Pablo Fuenzalida, María Paz Gálvez, Cristóbal González, and Felipe Palomero. Javiera Calderón and Sebastián Lepe were also members of the management team.