The acronym INDER in Spanish stands for Institute for Sports and Recreation of Medellin, and it is financed through the mayor’s office. The institute’s home page describes its mission as being to ‘encourage sports, physical activity, recreation and making the most of free time, by way of offering programs that contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the people of Medellin.”
This unit is responsible for the dozens of recreational spaces in the city: pools, parks, some libraries, and organized play areas for children under age 10 run by well-trained (and enthusiastic!) staff whose goal is to supplement children’s in-school learning with fun educational activities in attractive spaces. These areas, called Ludotekas, operate in or near public schools (that is to say, where poor children are most likely to live).
INDER organizes hundreds of free events all over the city each year for people of all ages, including weekly ciclovias in which stretches of major streets are blocked off on Sunday mornings for people to ride bikes, walk, run, take their babies out in strollers or great-grandparents out in wheelchairs.
Sunday Ciclovia; INDERmedellin Instagram
Trail bike rides for groups of up to 15 hardy souls ready to tackle the mountainous terrain around the city
Organized neighborhood sports days and activity fairs to compliment school festivals that include activities that run the gamut from bouncy castles to video game facilities that allow for onsite tournaments.
