World Leisure Organization: Expanding the Horizon

This article was written for Uncover magazine – From Global to Ground (10th edition). You can read the full magazine here. 

Authors: Joanne Schroeder works for Vancouver Island University and is chair of the World Leisure Organization and Cristina Ortega Nuere is Chief Executive Officer of the World Leisure Organization.

A clear ambition: global coverage with local meaning
Our ambition is to achieve broader global coverage not as a matter of geographic reach alone, but as a commitment to equity, inclusion and contextual relevance. Leisure is universal, but its meanings, practices, and challenges are deeply local. Therefore, our goal is to co-create knowledge and action frameworks that respect and respond to these differences. This ambition is driven by a pressing reality: global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, mental health, loneliness and urbanisation require holistic, human-centred approaches. Leisure, when understood as a space for well-being, creativity, connection, and cultural expression, has the potential to address these challenges in ways that are both impactful and sustainable.

How we work: from networks to ecosystems 
To move towards meaningful global coverage, WLO is evolving from a network of initiatives into a connected ecosystem of action, learning, and influence. This approach is built on three core principles:

1. Regional anchoring with global connectivity
We are strengthening regional hubs across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Oceania, ensuring that local initiatives are not isolated but connected to global dialogues. Central to this is a strong focus on understanding local contexts, needs, and motivations, recognising that leisure is shaped by diverse cultural and social realities. Our field-based programmes are key to this approach, generating grounded insights into lived experiences, challenges, and opportunities. These insights inform international research, policy discussions, and educational frameworks, ensuring that global strategies remain responsive and relevant to local conditions.

2. Co-creation and participatory learning
Rather than exporting models, we co-create with communities, universities, and institutions. This means working with local stakeholders, not for them. To ensure that programmes reflect lived realities, respond to local priorities, and foster a genuine sense of ownership. It also involves building trust, valuing local knowledge, and creating space for diverse voices to shape both process and outcomes. Experiential learning and collaborative research remain central tools in this approach, enabling shared understanding, mutual capacity-building, and solutions that are both context-sensitive and sustainable.

3. Strategic platforms for dialogue and impact
Our congresses, regional events, programmes, and partnerships are designed not just as meeting points, but as platforms for transformation. They create spaces where ideas can be tested, knowledge can be exchanged, and collaborative solutions can emerge. By connecting academia, industry, policy, and civil society, we enable meaningful cross-sector dialogue and joint action. At the same time, we actively amplify diverse voices, particularly those from underrepresented regions and communities, ensuring that the future of leisure is shaped by a broad range of perspectives and experiences.
 

Why it matters: the benefits of a truly global approach
Expanding global coverage in this way generates multiple layers of value:

For communities, it ensures that leisure initiatives are inclusive, culturally relevant, and capable of enhancing well-being and resilience. It also empowers individuals and groups to actively shape initiatives that reflect their identities and aspirations.

For students and professionals, it offers transformative learning experiences that build intercultural competence, critical thinking, and social responsibility. These experiences help prepare them to work effectively in diverse, real-world contexts.

For institutions and policy-makers, it provides evidence-based insights and innovative frameworks to address complex societal challenges. This supports more informed decision-making and the development of policies that are both responsive and forward-looking.

For the global agenda, it positions leisure as a key contributor to sustainable development, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In doing so, it strengthens recognition of leisure as a cross-cutting driver of social, cultural, and environmental progress.

Ultimately, this approach enables us to move from isolated success stories to systemic impact.

Looking ahead: from ambition to collective action
The future of WLO lies not only in expanding its ecosystem, but in deepening the quality and intentionality of how that ecosystem operates. Strengthening partnerships, empowering regional leadership, and bridging research, practice, and policy are critical steps. But their true value depends on how effectively they are connected through collaborative action.

Central to this is a more deliberate focus on working intersectorally and across disciplines to generate meaningful, lasting impact. Leisure does not exist in isolation; it intersects with public health, urban planning, education, environmental sustainability, cultural development, and social policy. Recognising this interconnectedness means moving beyond siloed approaches and actively designing initiatives that bring diverse sectors and forms of expertise into dialogue.

Achieving this kind of integration, however, is not automatic. It requires sustained effort, shared learning, and a willingness to engage with complexity. Collaboration across sectors and disciplines demands more than a shared vision. It calls for practical alignment, mutual trust, and the ability to navigate differing priorities, languages, and institutional cultures. It also requires cultural sensitivity and a deep understanding of place, ensuring that global frameworks are adapted to local realities rather than imposed upon them.

A shared responsibility: embedding collaboration for lasting change
This is where WLO’s ecosystem approach becomes particularly significant. By fostering environments where universities, policy-makers, practitioners, community leaders, and industry actors can work together, WLO helps create the conditions for co-produced knowledge and coordinated action. These collaborations enable research to inform practice, practice to shape policy, and policy to support innovation on the ground, creating a dynamic cycle of impact.

At the same time, achieving broader global coverage cannot be the responsibility of a single organisation. It requires a collective commitment from all stakeholders to recognise the value of leisure as a driver of well-being, inclusion and sustainability. Universities must continue to generate and share knowledge; governments must integrate leisure into policy agendas; communities must be empowered as active contributors; and industry partners must invest in scalable and responsible solutions.

Ultimately, the challenge—and opportunity—is to move from collaboration as an aspiration to collaboration as a structured, ongoing practice. By embedding intersectoral and interdisciplinary working into the core of its ecosystem, WLO can help catalyse a more cohesive and impactful global movement. A movement capable of addressing complex challenges and creating meaningful change across diverse contexts.

Our ambition is clear: to make meaningful leisure experiences accessible to everyone, not just a select few. This means not only expanding access, but ensuring that these experiences are relevant, inclusive, and shaped by the diverse contexts in which people live. By collaborating across borders and disciplines, we can turn leisure into a powerful force for a more equitable, sustainable, and connected world. Ultimately, true global reach is not measured by distance, but by the depth of the connections we create and the lasting impact they generate.

The six regional contributions that follow make this ambition tangible. They showcase the expanding WLO network worldwide and reveal how meaningful connections between local action and global collaboration drive impact in diverse contexts.