Inauguration of the project BeMW – Be More Wise.

In the previous week, the eagerly awaited inauguration of the Erasmus+ project BeMW - Be More Wise took place on 8.12.2023.

The main participants of the event were representatives of Universities of the Third Age from Silesia, specifically from Łazy, Cieszyn, Bytom, Siewierz, Skoczów and Bielsko-Biała. In addition, we were honored by their presence: Prof. Miroslava Pridalova (from Palacký University Olomouc), Ms. Iwona Szreter-Kulisz (Department of Education and Sports of the City Hall of Katowice), the distinguished Prof. Jan Slezynski, Prof. Ilona Pokora, Prof. Anna Polak, Prof. Wieslaw Garbaciak, Dr Zbigniew Pawelak, Dr Dariusz Pośpiech, and the Head of the International Relations Center, Msc Piotr Rodak. The grand opening of the project was conducted on behalf of the Rector of AWF Katowice by the Vice Rector for Education and Students, Prof. Rajmund Tomik.

The first part of the event consisted of lectures, and the inaugural one was presented by Dr hab. Izabela Zając-Gawlak, Prof. AWF Katowice - the forerunner of the project. She talked about where the idea to create the project came from and the first pilot studies, which allowed to explore the topic and outline the direction of its further development. After a short break, another lecture with the theme "What moves us? That is, how motor, cognitive and emotional functions are linked in our brain," was led by PhD Anna Szczegielniak.

After the lecture part, the participants gained strength during lunch and then went to the movement workshop. During the course, the participants learned a series of preparatory exercises for juggling, with both smiles and focus on their faces. The task of the exercises is to both improve fitness, memory, coordination and also the well-being of seniors.

One of the end results of the Me More Wise project will be a manual with descriptions of juggling exercises (in both paper and digital versions), as well as videos of exercise instruction. All this together will become an excellent base for future trainers as well as those wishing to test the effectiveness of our project.

We would like to thank all those who managed to participate in the event, and encourage the rest to read the details of the project on its website or Facebook page.