The goal of the Agglomeration Kalisz-Ostrowska Association, is to promote the development of services, infrastructure and activities for older adults. One hundred local government units that have expressed their willingness to join the network of age-friendly cities and communities. Communes such as: City, Nowe Skalmierzyce Commune, Brzeziny Commune, Town, Odolanów Commune, Przygodzice Commune, Sieroszewice Commune, City, Opatówek Commune, Koźminek Commune, City of Kalisz, Szczytniki Commune, Sośnie Commune, Godziesze Wielkie Commune, Gołuchów Commune, Commune Lisków, the City, the Raszków Commune, the Ostrów Wielkopolski Commune and the Pleszewski County will form a coalition for the implementation of policy in the agglomeration.

The strategy of reaching a place friendly to older people will be based on several leading priorities.

Transport
We believe that the mobility of older adults will contribute to reducing the exclusion of residents from areas where public transport does not reach. We have appointed a team that will develop standards for adapting vehicles and services for the social group of people 60+.

Culture
Participation in culture helps to better understand perspectives and find new cognitive horizons. By encouraging older people to join the world of culture, we will build the foundations of social capital in the Agglomeration.

Environmental Protection
Environmental protection is a multifaceted issue that connects generations naturally. Efforts to improve the quality of human functioning in nature, it directly influences the lives of the next generations. We intend to create new initiatives that will develop knowledge and appropriate pro-ecological attitudes.

Society
The foundation of the Society pillar is solidarity with seniors in terms of the challenges of today’s everyday life. In the first step, we want to implement projects that will shape social respect for older adults. We will create tools for the participation of older people as part of co-deciding about the fate of municipalities and the entire agglomeration.

Health
The challenge of today’s world is the impact of new technologies on both obesity and spine diseases. On the other hand, in the field of mental health, new disease entities associated with depression, anxiety and social disorders are designated. The most important effect of our activity will be the creation of an Agglomeration consisting of smaller and larger towns, as a comprehensive approach to an age-friendly community according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization. We know that an appropriate form of knowledge and experience exchange will result in the development of an attitude of lifelong education in society and being active regardless of age. This makes the concept of sustainable development the basis of our initiative. Societies that tolerate imbalances will have to allocate their resources to equalizing opportunities in the future, so when planning municipal projects, we cannot think about them in isolation, but pay attention to the synthesis of agglomeration processes.

Based on the diagnosis and analysis of the demographic situation in the Agglomeration, the forecast changes until 2027 and the identified problems, needs, potentials and expectations of the elderly, the vision and mission of the senior policy in the Kalisz-Ostrow Agglomeration was formulated.

The vision reflects the realized main and operational goals as well as the areas of intervention planned for implementation in the further stage of the implementation of the senior policy.

To achieve the vision realistically, SAKO formulates the following mission: “Partnership and effective cooperation of local government units and related institutions and social organizations in order to improve the quality of life of older people in the Kalisz-Ostrow Agglomeration”.

The primary goal is to systematize and improve the activities of public institutions for the benefit of older adults. The adopted operational goals, thanks to the implementation of specific activities, will contribute to a significant improvement in the quality of life of older adults. On this basis, the following main objectives in the field of policy for older adults were set to be implemented

1. Improving the conditions and quality of life of older adults
2. Implementation of initiatives and activities aimed at healthy and safe ageing.
3. Activation and integration of older adults.
4. Social and civic participation of older adults.

The basic assumptions can be defined as the process of elimination and prevention of limitations related to infrastructural and social barriers to health services, which prevent the use of broadly understood social services, i.e. primarily lifelong learning, access to the labor market, public institutions, cultural facilities, sports and entertainment. For older people with limited ability to function independently, the system of care services, including services in nursing homes, should be strengthened and the development of the network of Day Care Homes should be pursued.

Until now, dealing with the phenomenon of old age has been based on quite passive actions. In an effort to meet the expectations of older people, a document was developed entitled “Senior Policy for the Kalisz-Ostrow Agglomeration for 2020-2027” and by planning active measures, we tried to answer the following questions: How to improve the quality of life of older people? How to include them in active participation in social life? How to change the image of older adults? The questions presented allowed us to target specific areas of intervention and recommendations for the Kalisz-Ostrow Agglomeration. The document “Senior Policy for the Kalisz-Ostrow Agglomeration for 2020-2027” is available on the SAKO website.