The Senior Academies of Famalicão got together last Friday for the third annual picnic of the Senior Academies of Vila Nova de Famalicão, a get-together held at the Gondifelos Leisure Park.
This was also the first event to bring together the 13 Senior Academies that already exist in the area and which are part of the recently established Famalicão Senior Academies Network, formalised with the aim of bringing together all the centres set up in the different parishes, in order to interconnect all the Senior Academies in the area.
"It's a great moment and an enormous satisfaction to see the smiles on these people's faces," said Mayor Mário Passos, recalling the importance of the work carried out by the municipality, which has promoted the programme in a decentralised way, seeking to improve the quality of life of Famalicão's senior population, promote active ageing and combat exclusion and isolation.
In order to accompany the growth of these centres throughout the parishes, the municipality recently approved the creation of the Senior Academies Network, which will link them all together. "It's a programme, a vast set of cross-cutting and comprehensive policies for this age group, which provide conditions for them to remain active and healthy both physically and psychically, which is spreading across the territory and the creation of the network will serve to promote concerted action and also create links between everyone, sharing initiatives and actions like the one we're carrying out here," added the mayor.
The network includes the Requião Senior Academy, the Delães Senior Academy, the Brufe Senior Academy, the Carreira e Bente Senior Academy, the Gavião Senior Academy, the Gondifelos Senior Academy, the Joane Senior Academy, the Nine Senior Academy, the Oliveira Santa Maria Senior Academy, the Pedome Senior Academy, the Riba de Ave Senior Academy, the TUSEFA Senior Academy and the Vila Nova de Famalicão Senior Academy.
Famalicão was recently recognised for carrying out public policies aimed at older people by being included in the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities.
It should also be remembered that last year these good practices had already been honoured by the Order of Portuguese Psychologists (OPP) with the Pro-Aging Communities Seal, in recognition of social practices related to promoting active ageing in the community, namely the creation of the Senior Academies project in the municipality.