23. Januar 2025  
Jakarta, INA  
Artistic Gymnastics

FIG to launch measures for an ageing society in Indonesia

Many countries and regions are facing the problem of rapidly increasing social security costs due to an ageing society. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) set up the "Ageing Society Working Team" in 2022 with the aim of proving that social security costs can be reduced if older people practice gymnastics.
The 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships will be held in Jakarta in October this year. On this occasion, the FIG, in collaboration with the Indonesian Government, will launch a "model case of how to deal with an ageing society". The project will aim to increase the presence of sport in society through the following two initiatives.

•    The transformation of a sporting event from entertainment to social contribution
•    Industrial revolution in the 21st century through sport and health

With 50% of the population in many countries soon to consist of senior citizens, it is expected that industries will emerge targeting older people and that the industries will be placed at the centre of society.

In this regard, the FIG informed about the following press conference, and would be grateful if you could attend, with these attendese:
•    Morinari Watanabe, President of the International Gymnastics Federation
•    Mr. Dito Ariotedjo, Minister of Youth and Sports, Indonesia
•    Mr. Raja Oktohari, President of Indonesia Olympic Committee
•    Mrs. Ita Yuliati, President of Indonesia Gymnastics Federation
 

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* 23-Jan-2025
* FIG, Press release -: President Morinari Watanabe today launched the first event of the FIG’s Ageing Society Programme. Held in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, which will host the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in October this year, the event serves as a proof of concept for a health programme targeted specifically at older people. The objective is to demonstrate that when combined with sport, and in particular the organisation of a major world championship event, the FIG Ageing Society Programme can show a measurable positive impact on social security costs in countries with ageing populations.The FIG Ageing Society Programme is a joint initiative between the FIG, the Indonesian Gymnastics Federation, the National Olympic Committee of Indonesia, the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Indonesia and commercial partner NTT Data.
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At this first event, 115 participants took part in a so-called stamp-card rally involving eight stations to measure various health vitals, followed by a presentation of NTT Data Biometrics and gymnastics demonstrations with tips on how to do gymnastics exercises at home.
Mrs Lucky Suparto (photo, right >) was the oldest participant with 93 years of age.

The programme encourages older people to continue to exercise at home using a smartphone application. They will be able to track their progress, their overall health and share their health data with medical institutions to facilitate treatment of any health issues.
"This application will create an entire ecosystem for the benefit of older people with the aim of reducing social security costs. Food companies, retailers, financial institutions and insurance companies would all benefit from integrating with this application," said Watanabe.

The application will be rolled out at scale at the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta in October this year, where the FIG and the Indonesian Gymnastics Federation will designate a model region to launch the "FIG Ageing Society Programme". The impact of this programme will be monitored over several years.

"Many countries face the challenge of an ageing population,” said Watanabe. “This has a significant impact on social security costs, since the smaller, younger population cannot finance the social security costs of the bigger, older population. The FIG Ageing Society Programme addresses this problem and allows countries to work on measures to mitigate the problems of an ageing society using dedicated gymnastics programmes,” he concluded.
*Source: F.I.G. press release