Photo: Konstantin OLKHIN.
Deputy Director of the Moscow Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Vladimir Filippov visited the open studio of Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), where he spoke about the successes in the development of the Longevity of Life program. Moscow. .
INTERESTING, COMFORTABLE, SAFE
– Let’s talk about the Moscow Longevity program. You position it as a “life mission.” What does it mean?
– “Moscow Longevity” has become an opportunity for a significant number of older people to continue an interesting, comfortable and, to some extent, even safe life. Today, on the sidelines of SPIEF, with colleagues from Sberbank, the Ministry of Digital Development, the Federation Council and VimpelCom, we talked about how Moscow Longevity has changed the palette of victims of fraudulent schemes. If a few years ago pensioners were the main target of telephone and technological fraud, today, and Sber data clearly demonstrates this, the emphasis has shifted to middle-aged people.
“Moscow Longevity” is a project that helps older people live an active social life and stay in good shape, not only prolonging their lives, but also making them more interesting and vibrant. Life expectancy in Moscow today is about 79 years, and 100-120 years ago in Russia it did not even reach 50 years. This growth is also facilitated by the development of high-tech medicine. One of the main components of a long life is lifestyle, our daily habits and behaviors, which we ourselves can change. And “Moscow Longevity” helps in this. In the capital, any older Muscovite, regardless of his preferential status, career path or family composition, can choose, in the area where he lives or wherever it suits him, any number of activities that suit his tastes: learning foreign languages, go on excursions, study sports, study history, financial and digital literacy… The most important thing is to come to the Moscow Longevity Center and choose activities to your liking. And if you have not yet reached retirement age, take care of your elders (parents, grandparents, help them take the first step), come and register for the project.
For business representatives with whom we hold a large number of meetings and discussions within the framework of SPIEF, we have created a transparent and extremely simple system of financial support for those project providers who teach classes with high-level Muscovites. Each month, the Moscow government reimburses costs associated with classes in the “Moscow Longevity” program for commercial organizations, non-profit organizations and all of our suppliers.
– In Moscow, do many older people participate in this program?
– We consider active participants in the Moscow Longevity project to be those who attend at least one elective class at least twice a week. It’s like in fitness, it’s not enough to buy a card to be considered a person who exercises regularly. Walking is also important. So, today we have around 260 thousand people who go regularly. There are more people who go less frequently, some once a week, twice a month, for various reasons and circumstances. But our entire team strives so that the number of active participants, for whom the project activities have already become an integral part of their lives, constantly increases.
We see here the most complex psychological barriers that exist in a person who has never practiced or attended music, drawing or sports classes. Think: when I get there, everyone already knows how to study, what to do, but I don’t know how to do anything. Not everyone will rate me very highly. The most important thing is to help the elderly eliminate this barrier. In Moscow, in almost all districts of the capital, longevity centers have been opened in Moscow. Any elderly resident of the capital can come there completely free of charge. And in the most beautiful and comfortable environment, just look closer. No one will force you to do something right away. You can just come and sit in silence, read a book, see who’s doing what, play pool, tennis or chess. Something to talk about. And then engage in a more active class format. Now in the centers there are more than 5 thousand open interest clubs, where participants share knowledge and communicate with like-minded people.
“BETTER THAN HOME”
– A commercial issue. Are there any financial benefits for the capital’s government in the Moscow Longevity project?
– All efforts of the Moscow government, a huge team and various departments are aimed at ensuring that the quality of life of Muscovites and residents of our city constantly increases. And that level of happiness, satisfaction with life, access to opportunities, so that it is as broad as possible for all residents. “Moscow Longevity” is the largest project in Russia and Europe and one of the largest in the world, providing access to quality life to a large number of older Muscovites. If commercialism is considered interesting from the point of view of interest in making Muscovites happier and live longer, then in this sense we can call the interest of the Moscow government team commercial.
– If a person participates in some events for free, someone still pays for him. The Moscow government is in this situation.
– We strive to make the spaces where Muscovites come look stylish and aesthetically pleasing. So that anyone, regardless of their age, with any income level, feels comfortable and welcoming. Moscow’s longevity centers have also become centers of good neighborliness, public debates, discussions and gatherings of friends. Here you can celebrate a birthday, a family holiday, meet with friends, girlfriends, neighbors, cook something together, try something, talk about something, play and spend time together.
All the research that we carry out together with colleagues in the scientific community, carried out by the Longevity Institute, shows that one of the factors of longevity is maintaining communication, meeting new people and not just maintaining old acquaintances. Rhythm in the organization of life, in the planning of life, when you need somewhere the day after tomorrow, in a week, you need to prepare for something. All these conditions allow Muscovites to live a long time. We hope that, thanks to these efforts, the development of healthcare in Moscow, the general security of the city and the improvement of Moscow’s economic indicators, life expectancy will increase and exceed 85 years.
“AGELESS”
– The “Moscow Longevity” program has existed for several years and is evolving. What will it be like in 1 to 5 years?
– “Moscow Longevity” is the most flexible program in terms of management and approaches. One of our achievements is that we have launched businesses and non-profit organizations aimed at older generations. So the products created by companies and NGOs are aimed not only at middle-aged Muscovites, children and young people, but also at older Muscovites, whose number is increasing. In the 1930s we will surpass the mark of 4 million Muscovites of retirement age. And “Moscow Longevity”, as an ecosystem of offers for an interesting and comfortable life, will also change.
Various areas related to sports are emerging. Among the top five in terms of demand growth in the “Moscow Longevity” project are also IT, digital literacy and hygiene. There are more and more requests for the development of communication skills. Very often, loneliness is rooted in problems with interpersonal communication skills. The problems may worsen with age. We are developing the management of clubs “Memory Clinic”, a special joint project “School of Health” with the Department of Health, where qualified specialists from various specialized organizations give lectures and individual consultations in the centers. The “longevity of Moscow” as an ecosystem will develop along with the needs and challenges that older Muscovites will face.
Our longevity centers in Moscow and all our providers (there are several thousand of them throughout Moscow) work almost around the clock, from early morning to late afternoon. “Moscow longevity” is an opportunity that already exists for you. Come, use it and actively make suggestions about what still needs to be done, what needs to be adjusted from what has been done. We can do it all together, there is no age when such opportunities exist.
