Professor Tony Okely

University of Wollongong, Australia

Keynote Address: The SUNRISE International Study: an example of a large-scale collaboration in movement behaviour research.

The SUNRISE International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years (SUNRISE) involves 64 countries, 47 of which are low- or middle-income. An aim of the study is to provide opportunities for capacity building and to build an international community of researchers. As of June 2023, 40 countries have completed the pilot phase and 10 the main phase of the study. This presentation will summarise the progress to date against the study aims, share learnings on conducting a large-scale collaborative study, and provide insights on successes and challenges in working together across multiple jurisdictions.

About Tony:

Anthony Okely is a Distinguished Professor of Public Health and NHMRC Leadership Fellow in the School of Health and Society at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He also holds an Adjunct Professorship at Western Norway University.

Tony’s research focuses on movement behaviours in children, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. He has been involved in the development of movement behaviour guidelines at a national, regional, and global level over the past 15 years. He currently leads an international study of movement behaviours in the early years called SUNRISE, which involves 64 countries, 47 of which are LMICs.