“Silver” age in motion: “Longevity Marathon” finished in the Altai Territory

This year, the marathon lasted from September inclusive to October. Congratulatory events, concerts, creative meetings of family dynasties, social actions were organized for representatives of the older generation in the region. Under the motto “Older Generation: Live Actively and Long!”, 760 meetings were held with veterans of industries and social spheres, public organizations, where 13,810 elderly citizens participated.

In the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, special attention is paid to measures to strengthen interethnic dialogue and cultural exchange. The program of the Longevity Marathon includes master classes on traditional ethnic crafts and cuisines of various peoples of Russia, which allowed to study the cultural heritage more deeply and contributed to the preservation and popularization of ethnic traditions. During the Longevity Marathon, 2217 active events related to the creativity and creation of the older generation took place, in which 17,534 people took part.

Even at the start of the marathon, sports veterans were pleased with the successes. In September, the national team of the region performed at the XI Spartakiad of pensioners of Russia in Penza and was among the winners: among 83 teams from 79 regions and four teams of compatriots from abroad, representatives of the Altai Territory took 33rd place in the team standings. And 59-year-old Svetlana Plotnikova from the Zalesov district rose to the first step of the pedestal, winning the competition in the GTO in her age group. During the two months of the marathon, 354 events were held in our region to develop sports, social tourism and promote the health of the older generation, the number of their participants was 5393 people.

In the region, the delivery of elderly people from remote villages of the region for medical examination to central hospitals continues. Thanks to the work of mobile teams under the regional program Active Longevity, 9850 elderly residents of the region were taken for medical examinations this year.

Special events are organized for older people who are on stationary social services in regional institutions. More than 5,000 elderly people live in them, surrounded by care and attention. For them there were concerts, festive lunches and tea parties, commemoration of anniversary, exhibitions, meetings with creative teams and other events. The institutions of social protection of the population organized regular assistance to the elderly at the place of residence - "Veteran lives nearby" and "Neighborly assistance" - with the involvement of volunteers from among students and schoolchildren.

A special place in the Longevity Marathon is occupied by the volunteer activity of the older generation. There are 306 volunteer groups in the region, uniting more than 6,100 people. On September 9, the IX regional meeting of “silver” volunteers “The Road of Good” took place in Barnaul. The event was attended by about 350 active and positive elderly citizens - representatives of volunteer groups from all districts and cities of the Altai Territory.

Volunteers summed up the activities and awarded the most active, exchanged the best social practices and shared experience, found like-minded people for the implementation of joint projects. In our region, volunteers implement more than 60 projects that make the lives of others better. One of the main directions is to help the participants of the SVO: volunteers weave camouflage nets, make trench candles, preserve vegetables, knit socks and sew pillows for hospitals, collect humanitarian parcels. Within the framework of the Longevity Marathon, volunteers held 272 events, in which 4,419 people took part.

A separate direction of the Longevity Marathon is training in digital technologies. It helps older people to stay in touch with relatives and friends, to receive information and services online, including through “Public Services”. In a world where a lot goes digital, this is especially important. Thus, 67 people took part in the regional stage of computer all-around among pensioners of the Altai Territory.

Autumn action for the elderly is another reason to surround the older generation with support and care, not only relatives and friends, but also to pay attention to elderly neighbors who may need assistance in the delivery of food and medicines, payment for utilities, etc. The social protection service is improving this work everywhere and additionally creates hotlines.

The main result of the Longevity Marathon is that after retirement, life does not end, but becomes fuller and more complete. Representatives of the older generation are in demand in public spheres, find new friends for communication and interesting hobbies for active longevity.

We will remind, on the website of the Ministry of Social Protection of the Altai Territory in the section "Active longevity" there are actual events and classes that can be visited by older people, in the social network "Classmates" and on the channel in the messenger "Max" there are current news, announcements of events and various information useful for older people.