Our condolences to Teija Hakala’s family

Teija Hakala at the ENAS Award ceremony during the Forum in Berlin - 2015

It is with great sadness that we report the untimely passing of Teija Hakala from University of Turku.

Teija has sadly passed away following a battle with cancer, which unfortunately the cancer won. Teija was a regular attendee at the ENAS Forums, softly spoken and modest, but an active participant in the sharing of good practice and a great ambassador for her University of Turku and Finnish University Sport. Teija presented a great initiative for promoting physical activity – the “Bottoms Up” campaign which was a great success at her University, and was enjoyed by so many of the ENAS membership. The caricatures used in the campaign were fun and amusing, but delivered a serious message about the need to reduce “sitting time” and increase physical activity.

The campaign resonated with so many members, and it was a great endorsement, that the campaign won the ENAS Award in 2015. Teija was also an active partner in the Erasmus + funded, Active Campus Europe (ACE) Project, which brought together 16 ENAS member universities, to deliver a physical activity project, which primarily targeted inactive students. Teija hosted one of the partner meetings at her University in Turku, and it was a great experience, for all the partners involved.

Shortly following that ACE meeting we were made aware that Teija had become ill with cancer, and while this was a shock, there is an expectation nowadays that people can recover from cancer, if it’s found early enough, with appropriate treatment, albeit with quite a harrowing experience. We believed that Teija had beaten the cancer and we were looking forward to engaging with her again. I suppose that with the pandemic, people’s thoughts have been elsewhere, and it was with great sadness that we heard the news of Teija’s passing in the last week.

It is so sad that one of our ENAS family members has passed away at such a relatively young age. Teija leaves a family and her colleagues at University of Turku, and all of us who knew her and worked with her, will remember her as a kind, friendly, confident, advocate for University sport and physical activity.

Our thoughts and condolences go to her family, and may she rest in peace.

Mel Parker
ENAS President on behalf of our ENAS Family