January 14th, 2026

SPEECH:
The Rights of Physical Education in Infancy
– The Blind Spot of Research
Timo Virtanen
General Manager
World Children & Youth Physical Education Academy
(C.Y.P.E. – Academy)

Distinguished researchers, representatives of universities,
EU decision-makers, funders, and international organizations,
Today, I ask a question that has been ignored for far too long:
Why are infants from special and vulnerable groups almost invisible in physical education research?

Where are the studies that examine, from a physical education perspective,
– deaf infants
– blind infants
– infants with cerebral palsy
– infants with multiple disabilities
– neurodivergent infants
– infants born in war and crisis zones
Not from the perspective of therapy.
Not only from medicine.

But from the perspective of physical education, embodied learning, movement, safety, dignity, and inclusion.

Movement Does Not Begin at Birth – It Begins in Water
It is astonishing that while we know:

• bodily experience begins in the womb
• amniotic fluid is the first movement environment
• balance, sensory, and motor systems develop before speech

we still treat infant swimming and aquatic movement as a hobby, a risk, or merely a form of therapy --
not as an educational right.
Water is not foreign to a baby.
It is the first environment in which humans learn rhythm, movement, and security.

Why Is the Research Missing?
We must have the courage to say this out loud:

• infants with disabilities are considered “too risky” to study
• physical education has remained in the shadow of medicine
• research funding favors what is fast, measurable, and safe
• ethical concerns are too often used as excuses for exclusion

But I ask you:
Do not the most vulnerable children have the greatest right to be studied, seen, and included?

This Is a Human Rights Issue
An infant’s right to move, develop, and experience bodily safety is:

• at the very core of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• a fundamental issue of equality
• the foundation of future health, learning, and participation

When infants from special groups are excluded from research,
they are denied recognition as full members of society from the very beginning of life.

We Need a New Kind of Research – Together
We do not oppose medicine.
On the contrary.
We demand:

• genuine cooperation between physical education and medical sciences
• shared ethical research protocols
• interdisciplinary research teams
• courage from universities to step outside their comfort zones

Infant movement is not only rehabilitation.
It is learning, interaction, identity formation, and hope.

Especially in War and Crisis Zones
In Ukraine and other crisis areas:

• infants’ psychological and bodily safety has been shattered
• stress, explosions, displacement, and fear affect neurological development
• reconstruction focuses on buildings — not bodies

But a child is not built from concrete.
A child is built from movement, touch, and safe embodied experience.

A Wake-Up Call to the EU and Universities
We demand:

• that the EU recognizes physical education in infancy as its own research field
• that special and vulnerable groups are included in projects — not excluded
• that infant swimming and aquatic movement are recognized as educational rights
• that infants in war and crisis zones are included in reconstruction strategies

This is not a marginal issue.
This is one of the greatest research gaps in Europe and the world.

In Closing
At the World Children & Youth Physical Education Academy, we state this clearly:
No infant is too small, too disabled, or too vulnerable to be seen in physical education.
The role of research is not only to measure what is easy.
Its role is to defend what is right.
Now is the time for change.
​
Thank you.
Timo Virtanen
General Manager
World Children & Youth Physical Education Academy
(C.Y.P.E. – Academy)
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.cype-academy.org

Timo Virtanen General Manager in Mykolaiv city Ukraine 2025