Saint John of God Brothers

The AGELESS Project in Paris

The Lecourbe medical-social center of the St. John of GodFoundation hosted the second workshop of the European project AGELESS, an acronym in French  for the title “preventing premature aging through sport and social inclusion”, in Paris on 15 and 16 March.  At the heart of the project are fragile people – with intellectual disability or neurocognitive decline – who are most exposed to the risk of premature aging, the consequence of  psycho-physical decline and chronic diseases. This risk condition has worsened after the Covid-19 pandemic and in particular after curtailments and limitations on sports and motor activities for over 2 years.

The AGELESS project intends to address this critical issue by developing a European collaboration between structures of the Order and the Hospitaller  Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in order to identify and promote the best programs for psycho-physical maintenance and for the prevention of the risk of premature aging.

The project is coordinated by the rehabilitation center of the Hospitaller Sisters in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. The other project partners are the Pai Menni Social-Health Center of Betanzos (Spain) and the Saint Germana Center of Paris. both run by the Hospitaller Sisters – together with the sports center for disabled people of the Order’s center in Gijón and the Lecourbe medical and social center in Paris.

In the Paris workshop, the partners illustrated their respective rehabilitation and motor maintenance programs, carried out both inside the centers and outside in public and private sports facilities,with digital and video presentations  Discussing the psycho-physical benefits for users and the impact on  the aging process of vulnerable people.

The participants had the opportunity to visit the centers of the Order and the Hospitaller Sisters in Paris and to meet some French athletes who practice Paralympic disciplines, including Yannick Ifebe, former resident of the Saint John of God center in Rue Lecourbe.

The third and final workshop of the AGELESS project will be held at the end of May at the rehabilitation center of the Hospitaller Sisters in Funchal on the island of Madeira and at the same time, some users with disabilities who practice sports and motor activity in the participating centers will also participate. More information on the Ageless project can be accessed on the website https://irmashospitaleiras.pt/agelesspt/

The AGELESS project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication rests solely with the author and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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