Local services
The programs of the “Move, Debrecen!” health initiative found a new location at Ibolya Street Elementary School. On the 19th of April, 2024, Mayor of Debrecen László Papp, Director of Debrecen Primary Care and Health Development Institute (Daefi) and the municipal representative of the residential area Csaba Papp, and Head of the School Katalin Gyurkóné Mezei reported in a press conference.
As László Papp said, the past years have brought many challenges and trials, and perhaps we are doing the right thing if we always learn something from these challenges. Such was the case of the coronavirus epidemic, which brought many lessons. Isolation, the breakdown of relationships, the suspension and temporary closure of various social programs brought the realization that our fellow citizens who did not move around much showed even less activity because they could not participate in social experiences. the epidemic.
In 2021, the “Move, Debrecen!” health initiative was born in the spirit of getting Debrecen citizens to move, as the mayor pointed. Today, 66,000 people have participated in the movement’s programmes. It is very popular, covering almost the whole city, with only one or two districts where there are no bases yet. The community centres were outgrown relatively quickly by the movement’s indoor exercise programmes for adults, so new venues were sought. That’s how they got to the Ibolya Street Primary School, which has now become the newest location.
The mayor thanked the educational institutions for their involvement, as 44 institutions have so far joined the “Move Debrecen!” School programme. The programme, which is mainly aimed at children in the first six years of primary school, offers an extra 2×45 minutes of activity and playful movement every week. The extremely important pillars of this branch of the movement are the physical education teachers and teachers working in schools. They are also to be thanked for their support for the health promotion, prevention and active living activities that are part of the movement. The programmes for adults at the school sites are also a great success, for example, in the Dózsa school, 150 participants took part in the first week of the sessions, and last month 550 in the Vénkerti school.
The “Move, Debrecen!” health initiative is popular, there is a demand for movement among city residents if there is a suitable infrastructure, there are suitable professionals who help movement, there are those who professionally coordinate the entire activity, and there are active participants who constantly represent all the positive aspects of the movement.
For the Director of the Debrecen Primary Care and Health Development Institute (Daefi) Csaba Papp, it is a double pleasure that the initiative was able to expand with another location offering indoor programs for adults at the Ibolya Street School, as he is also the municipal representative of this residential area. As one of the founders of the Movement, he would not have thought at the beginning that they would be able to mobilise a total of 66,000 people. Although the news of this opportunity to exercise spread quickly, the will of the participants is necessary for such a level of activity.
The city does nothing but provide opportunities for exercise, in cooperation with the staff of the University of Debrecen and now more than 70 trainers who work in the program. The indoor program location opened at Ibolya Street Primary School is the 15th in a row, but Csaba Papp promises that there will be more and more locations in the city, and in terms of securing locations so far, he singled out the role of the institutions of the Debrecen Training Center and Szent László Greek Catholic High School and Technical College.
They have found the greatest demand for the Move, Debrecen! programmes is among the people living in the city centre, and the people of Debrecen are taking advantage of the opportunities. The In The gymnasium of Ibolya Street Primary School (Ibolya Street 3.) from the 23rd of April on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 4.15 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. there will be back exercises and yoga classes between 5.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m.
A special feature is that from the 17th of May on Fridays between 6.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. there will also be a senior dance, which has only been held in one place in the city so far as part of this movement. Csaba Papp emphasised that Debrecen is a developing city, a caring city, but like all big cities, the sedentary lifestyle of its citizens is a problem. It is very good that the city’s administration has responded to this problem and launched the Move, Debrecen! movement, and the city’s residents should take advantage of the opportunities offered by this movement, because everyone can do something to preserve their health, especially on their own.
Head of the school, Katalin Mezei Gyurkóné said she is very happy that the school can join the life of the city in this aspect as well. They joined the “Move, Debrecen!” school program already in the fall of last year, and these playful exercise activities are very popular among children. Now they hope that by providing a venue for indoor exercise programs for adults, they will convey a new motivational force for the children attending this school, the children’s teachers, parents, and the residents of the area, and that as many people as possible will join the program. And just like the previous locations, the Ibolya Street school will also be a popular location for this movement, and many people will participate in these free health promotion sessions.
The details of program can be found at https://mozduljdebrecen.hu/ and https://gondoskodovaros.hu/.
Source: debrecen.hu
