The initiative which runs for six months a year and features activities particularly designed for the senior community, kicked off in 2004 with 445 participants and has now almost doubled its participant’s number, and seen an increase in its classes from 18 to 38. As Joaquim Jorge Ferreira, the president of the City Council has mentioned, it is a program which aims to provide the senior population with the feeling of joy in “practicing regular physical activity, as well as raising awareness of the benefits of adopting healthier lifestyles.”


Spread across 19 parishes belonging to Oliveira de Azeméis municipality, the project which has been taking place during the milder months, every year, over the last 20 years, only stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a source from the local government involved in the project, the initiative has the added benefit of "combating social isolation" and encouraging a "healthier and happier" habit in addition to encouraging active aging.

Joaquim Jorge Ferreira has mentioned to Lusa referring to the ‘Living Better’ initiative that, “It is a program that, over the years, has had a very positive impact on the population over 60 years old”, emphasising that the project has been growing “both in the number of participants in classes, and in adherence to parallel initiatives which promote active aging.” During the length of the program the number of participants involved has grown from 445 to 974.


The classes, which are always taught by physical education instructors and last around 45 minutes, once a week, are mostly hosted by parish councils and social solidarity organizations. However, the classes started to take place twice a week in 2023, increasing the exercise burden to a total of 90 minutes weekly thanks to the support from the Integrated Operations Action Plan of the Intervention Territory in the Southern Area of the AMP.