Local services
Vénkert Primary School and Primary Art School is the new venue for the “Move, Debrecen!” health initiative.
This was announced at a press conference on the 1st of March 2024 by Deputy Mayor of Debrecen Diána Széles, the Local Government Representative of the area Lajos Barcsa, Director of the Debrecen Institute for Primary Care and Health Development (Daefi) Csaba Papp, and the Head of the School Andor Tarsoly.
Diána Széles said that Lajos Barcsa, as the individual municipal representative of the district, had requested that the free programmes of the “Move, Debrecen!” health initiative be introduced to the residents of Vénkert. The conditions for this have now been created, as the Debrecen School District Centre has also supported the programme and the Vénkerti Primary School and Primary Art School has accepted the programmes. In a recent conversation with the programme trainers, they talked about their experiences over the past two and a half years, and it was good to hear that the trainers say that those who regularly attend the programmes always look forward to these opportunities and the next sessions. This is indeed the goal, to get people in Debrecen to exercise regularly, because they still tend to do little exercise. The aim of the inititaive is to provide free, regular exercise for everyone in the city.
Over the past two and a half years, more than 55 000 people have participated in more than 2 000 programmes, which is a huge number. Initially, the programmes were typically held in city sports parks and community centres. Last autumn, the “Move, Debrecen!” School programme was launched, with over 1500 children taking part in physical activity sessions every week. All the programmes are free of charge for the people of Debrecen, but of course there are costs, which are covered by the city budget through the Debrecen Institute for Primary Care and Health Promotion. This is made possible by the city’s growing economy and increasing local tax revenues.
Lajos Barcsa, deputy mayor of Debrecen and the district’s representative, expressed the hope that the people of Vénkert will also take advantage of the new opportunities. Several new sports developments have been carried out in this part of the city in recent years: gyms have been built, public ping-pong tables have been set up and sports fields have been renovated. Csaba Papp, Director of the Debrecen Institute of Primary Care and Health Development, as a local councillor, whose district includes part of Vénkert, has also contributed to these developments. However, progress has not only been made in public spaces, as the swimming pool of the Vénkerti Primary School and Primary Art School has recently been renovated, and children are happy to use it every day to stay healthy. However, as Lajos Barcsa pointed out, “There are still many people in Debrecen who do not exercise regularly, which is why it is very important that this very well-located school has given space to the programmes.
Csaba Papp, Director of the Debrecen Institute of Primary Care and Health Promotion (Daefi), pointed out that the Vénkert school is now the ninth indoor venue of the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative. Two and a half years ago, they started with four locations, and after a year they managed to gradually expand, as more and more people became aware of the programme and wanted to exercise regularly. The gym and the prevention room of the Vénkerti Primary School and Primary Art School will be open three afternoons a week from the 4th of March 2024. All indoor physical activity programmes offered by “Move Debrecen!” will be available here. On Mondays between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and on Fridays between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., it will be possible to do spinal gymnastics in the gym, and on Mondays between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., body-shaping aerobics will also be available in the gym. On Wednesdays, people can take part in yoga in the prevention room between 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Zumba class in the gym between 5.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. A new and special feature is that on Mondays, between 5:00 and 6:00 pm, a yoga class is held in the prevention room specifically for men, who have different muscles than women. On Wednesdays, there will also be strength training for men in the same room from 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.. The Vénkert will be the first residential area in the city where the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative will also organise sessions specifically for men. Csaba Papp also said that according to the instructors’ reports, it is clear that those who regularly participate in the sessions are getting physically stronger, and even ask for an increase in the intensity of the exercise. He stressed that disease is caused by physical inactivity, which is why it is particularly important that more people take advantage of the opportunities to exercise regularly so that they can live healthy years in old age.
Andor Tarsoly, the Head of Vénkerti Primary School and Elementary Art School, said that their school had joined the “Move, Debrecen!” school programme in the autumn of last year. Within this framework, a total of 160 students in two groups are currently trying out various forms of exercise with great pleasure, and it seems that this has an additional effect, since this program is also a role model for the circle of friends of the participating children. In fact, parents and grandparents were already asking how they could get moving too. Now it will be possible, during the day, the children exercise at school, in the afternoon, the parents and grandparents. The head of the school is confident that they will be very good hosts for this programme and that they will be able to meet the demand as it grows.
For details of the programmes of the Move Debrecen! movement, please visit https://mozduljdebrecen.hu/ and https://gondoskodovaros.hu/.
Source: debrecen.hu
