"Let's face it, it's sad to grow old": GUM pilot in France combats loneliness through movement
“Well, let’s face it, it’s sad to grow old. When I come here, it makes me feel good. I’m going back home and I’m very happy, and it allowed me to meet a lot of people, which I really appreciate.”
In this touching video, we celebrate the work being done by our Generations Uniting through Movement (GUM) project partner Azur Sport Santé in Nice, France, to connect young people and seniors through fun physical activity sessions. And – most importantly – to help combat loneliness and isolation among both groups.
Azur Sport Santé collaborated with Unis Cité association in Nice to organise and deliver eight one-hour sessions with the activities including yoga, walking, dance, mindfulness and meditation.
“It was an opportunity for Azur Sport Santé to discover a new field with intergenerational physical activity,” Azur Sport Santé’s Head of Development, Dusan Pjevac, says. “Seeing the interactions between the youth and the elderly and how they benefited from the programme was really great.”
This GUM pilot included 10 seniors aged 65+, 10 volunteers aged 16-25 and a facilitator from Unis Cité. It used a buddy system, pairing one senior and one volunteer for the duration of the programme. They chose the activities together, focusing on play, movement, relaxation and getting to know each other.
We love seeing our partners’ work making a difference like this! And we love the feedback from the participants in this video.
Young volunteer: “This programme has given me the opportunity to meet and share the energy and the morale too. It was really great.”
Senior participant: “You learn a lot and then you remember it when you are home alone and it does us good. Yasmina [the facilitator] taught us well.”
Original video published by Azur Sport Santé • Vidéo promotionnelle GUM
Learn more
ISCA’s Generations Uniting through Movement (GUM) project: https://www.generationsmove.org/
Azur Sport Santé https://azursportsante.fr/
Unis Cité https://www.uniscite.fr/antenne/nice/
Disclaimer: This project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.