Debrecen4U
October 1, 2025
The “Still Active” program organized for the 23rd time
The Municipal Social Service of the City of Debrecen (VSZSZ) organized its “Still Active” (“Még mindig aktívan”) program on September 30, 2025, for the 23rd time, at the VOKE Egyetértés Cultural Centre.
This event is traditionally organized in honor of the International Day of Older Persons on October 1 and is one of the most significant opening events of the Month of Older Persons in Debrecen. With the “Still Active” program, VSZSZ would like to create an opportunity for its beneficiaries and the elderly people associated with it to show the beauties of old age, its inherent creativity, cheerfulness, and the cohesive power of the community in a “Who knows what” manner. This program will be followed by numerous other events throughout the city in October in the senior citizens’ clubs operated by VSZSZ, as well as in the nursing homes on Pallagi Road and Szávay Gyula Street.
In her welcome speech, Mrs. Lajosné Nagy, the head of the VSZSZ institution, quoted Charles Dickens’ thought, “There is always something to be grateful for.” As she said, “This is also the case today, when we greet the elderly. The International Day of Older Persons gives us the opportunity to highlight that life does not end with retirement; in fact, a new stage can begin, in which experience, wisdom, and community participation play a prominent role. With this event, we would like to show that old age is not only about acceptance but also about opportunities. Opportunities that the beneficiaries of the VSZSZ live with. There is no upper age limit to an active lifestyle, because beneficiaries over 70, 80, and even 90 years old show their knowledge, talent, and, last but not least, their courage on stage as active members of the institution.”
Deputy Mayor Diána Széles emphasized that Debrecen is a caring city, so here the International Day of Older Persons is not just a day, and the Month of Older Persons is not just a month—Debrecen pays attention to the elderly all year round. It creates and operates contact points and communities and clubs, organizes a series of events for them, and launched the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative, in whose programs countless senior people who want to move and be in a community participate with pleasure. According to the deputy mayor, communities can give joy, strength, and happiness to many. We want to live in a city where—contrary to the habits of today’s digital world—people care about each other, pay attention to each other, and talk, and we want to ensure that the elderly are happy in Debrecen. We want to achieve that if someone asks the children and young people of Debrecen who their role models are, they will say, “My parents, my grandmother, and my grandfather, because they gave me the most guidance in life.”
The deputy mayor thanked the employees of the Municipal Social Service of the City of Debrecen for taking care of the elderly with all their heart and soul, with whom they form a large, loving community.
During the ‘Still Active’ stage program, more than 120 people performed in nearly 40 individual and group productions, including singing, poetry, parody, storytelling, dance, and drama. Nearly 100 people participated in preparing the exhibits for the exhibition of works by senior citizens associated with the event. The exhibition material can be viewed until October 3 at the VOKE Egyetértés Cultural Centre (67 Faraktár Street, Debrecen) during opening hours, and from October 6 at the Debrecen County Social Services Retirement Home (9 Pallagi Road) daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
