When Mölndal summarizes its movement as a pilot municipality with Make a Move, a lot of concrete progress has been made. In addition to increased movement, other positive ripples are spreading, such as fewer violations in the schoolyard and reduced loneliness among the elderly. And there's a welcome economic insight: it doesn't take much for the movement to have an impact in pure dollars and cents.
"It's bubbling in Mölndal," says Johanna Nygren, public health coordinator and project manager for the Make a Move pilot initiative.
"Now you can suddenly hear employees we don't know talking about Make a Move. We have started to notice a change in the way we look at movement and new ways of working in the organization," she says in the municipality's summary for the Movement Council: how far have we come and where are we aiming for the future?
After just over two years as a pilot municipality, it is clear that major positive effects can come from small changes of course, where you change ingrained ways of thinking and working. Today, 285 preschool students and just over half of the students in Mölndal's primary schools have been reached by the initiative, and work is underway to get even more people involved - and moving.
A long cavalcade of examples is presented from different parts of the municipality.
Valås and Kyrkängen preschools and Valås and Almås schools have together established new annual traditions. Sports clubs come to the Association Day and let children from five to thirteen years old try new activities. What used to be the school's annual run was transformed into the Valås OCR, with movement fun even for those who don't like to run: climbing, jumping, balancing and sprinting past teachers with water guns along the course. At the preschool, the school jog became a Teddy Bear Jog where even the youngest children had to walk backwards, jump and sneak to the finish line.
A big winner was the school's new planning of activities for each break, inviting pupils to play together. Loneliness, vulnerability and idleness have been reduced by the constant presence of an adult with a flag and music in the schoolyard.
The changes have proved to bring far greater benefits than valuable exercise. Fewer violations are reported and conflicts have decreased in the schoolyard. Instead, camaraderie, focus in lessons and confidence in their own abilities are increasing. Preschoolers can come to the first day of school confident and excited, having already familiarized themselves with both the school environment and the older children.
In one of Mölndal's most socio-economically mixed areas, Balltorp, there are challenges such as the fact that there are few associations, which results in a low proportion of active associations and a relatively large proportion of idle people. Here, they tested implementing the Make a Move principles at neighborhood level for increased security, community and health. Without major investment, positive differences have been achieved. A signposted activity loop in the middle of the neighbourhood has become popular, with weekly organized walks. An open gym at Balltorp school is combined with training for young leaders, who run activities for children in the area. And the Utekul day in Balltorp attracted 150 local residents with a barbecue, obstacle course and taster sessions with Fritidsbanken and Scouts. All this has been achieved in just six months. In the future, there are also plans to involve the schools' woodwork teachers to create alternative play environments in the Balltorp forest together with children from preschool and school and a children's culture designer.
A construction workshop enlivens the surroundings for children in Gunnebogatan's accommodation for new arrivals. There was an empty yard with no play equipment whatsoever, for children who perhaps more than most need the distraction and well-being that play provides. The municipality brought in the Växtvärket association and invited the children and parents of the home to do some carpentry and painting together.
The result was a number of colorful boxes that are moved around the yard and used to play, have coffee and climb on, or whatever the residents want. The construction also ignited a spark, not least in mothers who had never held a tool before. Pride and meaningfulness are positive side effects.
Without further thought, the Lindome activity site could have become a standard football pitch where mainly boys play, but now a different approach was taken with the joy of movement at the center. Residents were encouraged to make suggestions, and the result was a dynamic activity area with parkour, a sledding hill, a multi-sports field, climbing frames, a hanging area, barbecues and a festive humpball field where the ball can roll in any direction. Rigid rules are set aside and freer play takes over.
More healthy years is the initiative for Mölndal's elderly that is about how we can work together to create opportunities for more healthy years through increased movement, more social contexts and reducing involuntary loneliness. Part of this is the Senior Sport School, where 25 seniors visit different associations every semester and are physically active together. Tennis, capoeira, archery and badminton - in total, they have tried more sports than many children do today. Reducing involuntary loneliness is as much a goal as increasing physical activity, and the impact is clear. Previous groups have continued to meet to play badminton, bowl and have a bite to eat.
The increased movement in all areas brings direct benefits in monetary terms too. This is a clear conclusion from the municipality. In Mölndal, it has been calculated that it only takes one person per year in the senior groups to reduce their need for home care, and the investment has paid off.
Add to that the young people who find a home in a sport instead of passing the time with vandalism or unsafe contexts. Schoolchildren who find a new friend in play instead of ending up in exclusion and sedentarism. And more, and more. We look forward to following the progress of a municipality that feels it has found a recipe for success on many fronts.
