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The Move, Debrecen! Movement is expanding its programmes with the Nordic Walking movement programme. Deputy Mayor of Debrecen Diána Széles, founder and head coach of Nordic Walking Debrecen and founder and president of the Nordic Walking Debrecen Sports Association Judit Kőrösi, and Director of the Debrecen Institute for Primary Care and Health Promotion (Daefi) Csaba Papp announced the new programme at a press conference in the Great Forest on the 28th of February 2024.
Diána Széles said that the city’s health plan, prepared by the municipality in cooperation with the University of Debrecen’s Department of Public Health, showed that the majority of Debrecen residents, more than 72 percent, lead a sedentary lifestyle. The “Move Debrecen!” movement, created and funded by the municipality, has mobilised more than 55,000 people in Debrecen in more than two years, and in addition to encouraging more people to exercise regularly, one of the aims of the initiative is to activate more self-organised communities. Nordic Walking Debrecen, founded by Judit Kőrösi, is one of them, so it fits well into this movement and has joined it with a common purpose. The deputy mayor stressed that Nordic Walking is not only a leisure activity that can be done in a healthy environment, such as the open spaces of the Nagyerdő forest, but also a serious sport that can help people to improve their well-being and maintain their health.
Judit Kőrösi expressed her pleasure that Nordic Walking Debrecen, which has a 10-year history in the city, can join the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative. As she pointed out, if Nordic Walking is done with the right technique, it works more than 90 percent of all the muscles. Nordic Walking requires a special, carefully selected walking stick, which can be used with the right technique to relieve the joints and improve lung and heart capacity while walking. The sport can be practised from 9 to 99 years of age, for health rehabilitation, recreation and even competition, at different levels and intensities, individually or in groups.
According to Csaba Papp, it is great that with Nordic Walking in Debrecen, a community of more than a thousand people is joining the city movement. The development of the community and the movement is parallel, both starting with a few people and then spreading to a wider and wider audience. The “Move Debrecen!” movement programmes include thematic walks, back exercises, yoga, aerobics, zumba, and are now taking place every working day of the week instead of two days a week. They are available in a total of 9 indoor locations, and from autumn 2023 the Health Promotion Centre at Szent Anna Street 11 will also be open.
Nordic Walking Debrecen is not the first “external” group to join the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative, as Mozaik Med SE has been promoting movement in this framework with its running events since spring 2023. These collaborations are mutually beneficial for both the participating communities and for the “Move, Debrecen! initiative, as they share the common goal of getting the citizens of Debrecen moving and encouraging them to lead healthier lifestyles.
In connection with the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative, Nordic Walking Debrecen offers free introductory training sessions on Mondays from 3:30 to 5:30 pm and Wednesdays from 8:30 to 10:30 am in the Great Forest, meeting at the Ködszínház (Mist Theatre). The basic training is important because in order to practice Nordic Walking, it is necessary to learn how to choose the right Nordic walking pole and the correct form of movement. Only then is it possible to join the Nordic Walking training in the Tócóvölgy for short distances and in the Great Forest (Nagyerdő) for long distances.
Pre-registration for the basic training can be done at https://gondoskodovaros.hu/ under Nordic Walking basic training (leisure group) and Nordic Walking basic training (vital group).
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
