Siel Bleu network: a long-standing presence
The countries where Siel Bleu intervenes are an opportunity for any new project leader. They allow us to understand and analyze the best practices to adopt in order to adapt them to the specificities of each new structure that starts. Discover their stories and take your turn to spread Adapted Physical Activity and spread more smiles!
In France, the Siel Bleu Association
The Siel Bleu Association was created in 1997, in France and more precisely in Strasbourg. How did the Association come into being? How did this idea come about? It's here, we explain you everything about the Association Siel Bleu below.
A bit of history
Jean-Michel Ricard and Jean-Daniel Muller, the future founders of Siel Bleu, were still students in "STAPS" (Sciences and Techniques of Physical and Sports Activities), when they discovered the fear of residents in retirement homes to take risks or to exercise.
During this internship, they built strong relationships with them and offer them adapted and fun physical activities.
After a 6-month experiment in 12 retirement homes in the Bas-Rhin department, the Siel Bleu Association was created in 1997 to generalize and offer its interventions on a national scale.
Development
At the beginning of the adventure, the Siel Bleu Association was mainly in retirement homes and spreads throughout France, in all departments.
Through meetings, demonstrations and calls for projects, the Siel Bleu Association has developed through each Sielbleusien to establish links at the local, regional and national levels. Step by step, the Siel Bleu Association is growing and developing its types of sessions according to the needs of society: people suffering from chronic diseases and specific pathologies (cancers, cardiovascular diseases...), people with disabilities, young seniors, caregivers and care professionals, people suffering from social insecurity, workers or all types of vulnerable people: prisoners, migrants...
Geographical and financial accessibility are the key words of the Siel Bleu Association.
Because health is a right and should never become a luxury, the Siel Bleu Association support any person in a fragile situation.
Expansion notably through
- Retirement homes
- Individuals : at home
- Collective sessions set up through mutual and complementary health insurance companies, local and regional actors: municipalities, CPAM, CCAS...
- Siel Bleu at work
To learn more about the best practices from the case study of the Association Siel Bleu (phase 1 of the Moov&Smile project), leave us your email address to be alerted as soon as our white paper is published:
The Siel Bleu France Association today is
- 760 graduated professionals
- 40,000 sessions per week
- Over 200,000 participants per week
- Interventions on 10,000 sites
Its added touch
- Siel Bleu Gender Equality Index : 99/100 (Siel Bleu is invested in the ODD)
- Eco-Health Project to reduce the impact of climate change by promoting the resumption of walking and cycling for an active and sustainable mobility among autonomous participants during our group sessions
- Prevention desert project to fight against medical deserts and to give the possibility to access to sessions
- 40,000 hours at home: sessions at home doubled in 2021
And you, when do you start with us?
In Belgium, the non-profit organization GymSANA
Why a different name for the association in Belgium?
Indeed, the structure bears a name distinct from that of Siel Bleu. This choice was deliberately made to reflect Belgium's multilingualism, while remaining true to the organization's mission and values.
A bit of history
GymSANA was created in 2009 through a meeting between Thierry, Jean-Daniel and Jean-Michel. Conquered by the cause that the Siel Bleu Association defends, but also by its values, Thierry was determined to set up this initiative in Belgium.
The development of GymSANA illustrates the extent to which the choice of words can vary from one country to another. It underlines the importance of adapting language and cultural references to local specificities, particularly in a multilingual country like Belgium.
Development
Each country has its own specificities: adaptation is one of Siel Bleu's strengths.
One of Siel Bleu's great strengths lies in its ability to adapt to local realities. GymSANA, its Belgian counterpart, has followed a different development path to that of Association Siel Bleu in France.
In Belgium, for example, nursing homes have a full-time physiotherapist. This context has led GymSANA to explore other avenues of development, in particular by collaborating with local authorities or responding to calls for projects.
These calls for projects have enabled GymSANA to gradually make a name for itself. Relying on reference institutions to gain credibility, access funding and benefit from a network is a winning strategy. GymSANA was the winner of the "prize awarded by the King Baudouin Foundationfor its innovative approach as a social enterprise.
Today, GymSANA is recognized as a major player in preventive health care in Belgium.
Main areas of intervention
- Rest homes
- Municipalities
- Day care centers
- Associations
- At home
- Sports complexes
Its flagship programs
- "Gym Prévention Santé" (with the aim of preventing and improving overall health).
Gym Prévention Santé is a category of Adapted Physical Activity delivered in group classes. As far as possible, it prevents deterioration and weakening of joints and muscles. It focuses on improving overall physical fitness, by alternating between standing and seated work. Each participant's abilities and autonomy are strictly respected.
GymSANA's "Gym Prévention Santé" classes include Aquagym, Nordic Walking, Sitting Gym, Gentle Gym, Active Gym, Postural Gym, etc. - "Adapted Health Gym
These classes are designed for a specific audience. Their aim is to reduce the impact of a chronic illness (e.g. Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, fibromyalgia, type 2 diabetes, obesity or disability). For example, Nordic Walking sessions are offered to people living with Parkinson's disease. It is possible to bring a carer with you.
To learn more about the best practices resulting from the case study on the creation and sustainability of GymSana (phase 1 of the Moov&Smile project), leave us your email address to be alerted as soon as our white paper is published:
GymSANA today is
- Interventions in Wallonia and Brussels-Capital
- 20 qualified professionals
- 3800 beneficiaries per week
- 250 course sites in 107 municipalities
Its added touch
- As part of the "Integrated Care PlanGymSANA is a partner and offersAPA in 3 projects PACT (Hainaut Centre), RéLIAN (Liège, Seraing) and BOOST (Brussels)
- "My fitness calendar, I move at home for my health" is a booklet for seniors without a computer or Internet, including 4 weeks of soft exercises. This booklet was designed to fight against the digital divide.
- April 2019: The Parliament of the French Community voted unanimously, all political parties included, a resolution "aimed at making regular physical activity a public health tool".
- 2024 : GymSANA receives the Public Prize of the operation Générations Solidaires
- 2025 : GymSANA is a member of the expert group Physical Activity on Prescription (PAP) for Sciensano
Want to get started with us?
In Ireland, Siel Bleu Ireland
September 10, 2010: date that marks the official creation of a new association, Siel Bleu Ireland!
A bit of history
The Siel Bleu Association in France was recognized as an Ashoka Fellow in 2006. Through this network, beautiful meetings have led to the birth of Siel Bleu Ireland in 2010.
The development of Siel Bleu Ireland was based on retirement homes. They continue to be the main partners of the association today. The impact and the benefits of the sessions have brought credibility, which has made other retirement homes want to contact Siel Bleu Ireland and join the adventure.
Since its inception, Siel Bleu Ireland has worked with over half a million retirement homes and day care centers, offering programs tailored to all individuals, regardless of their abilities.
Development
The development of Siel Bleu Ireland has also been done through patient associations. Indeed, it is noted that in Ireland, many people suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, a chronic respiratory disease). Thus, in 2013, Siel Bleu Ireland designed, in collaboration with a pharmaceutical company specialized in respiratory diseases, a community-based rehabilitation program for people with COPD and those who have undergone pulmonary rehabilitation.
It is through the success of these types of projects that Siel Bleu Ireland has continued to expand.
Depending on the needs of the country, some projects have been created and the impact of the sessions allow the participants to improve their quality of life.
Main areas of intervention
- Retirement homes
- At home
- Day care centers
- Patient Associations
- Community Groups
Learn more about the case study tracing the beginnings of Siel Bleu Ireland (phase 1 of the Moov&Smile project), leave us your email address to be alerted as soon as our white paper is published:
Siel Bleu Ireland today is
- 22 graduated professionals
- 6,500 participants per week
- 292 sessions per week
- 226 sites
- Sessions in 20 counties
Its added touch
- SielBleu at home during the covid:
10 countries/ 12 U.S. states/ 1.55 million minutes of video watched/ 30+ live classes per week - Throughout the year 2020, Siel Bleu Ireland has been featured in numerous media outlets, including print, online and national television
- Siel Bleu Ireland was 92% profitable before the Covid
- Social media: With the introduction of Siel Bleu at Home in 2020, we have increased the number of ourlikes"on Facebook by more than 2,000 and by nearly 900 subscribers on YouTube.
And you, when do you start with us?
In Spain, Fundación Siel Bleu
It was the identification of a social action opportunity that allowed the creation of Fundación Siel Bleu in Spain from 2012.
A bit of history
Thanks to these social actions, some forty senior centers and twenty retirement homes have discovered Siel Bleu sessions. Fundación Siel Bleu, based in Barcelona, has since expanded to six other autonomous communities in Spain.
Development
Fundación Siel Bleu designs programs with a preventive approach that benefits everyone, at any age and at any stage of life.
Over the years, Fundación Siel Bleu has been working with retirement homes, as well as municipalities. Making physical exercise accessible through a simple and effective methodology, using resources such as health parks, city hall facilities or outdoor spaces, has been a development path for Fundación Siel Bleu.
The preventive health and physical trainers also make sessions at home and in companies and have developed online training sessions for nursing staff.
Main areas of intervention
- Rest homes
- Municipalities
- Patient Associations
Its flagship programs
- Gymnastics around the table
- Chair gymnastics
- Alzheimer Gymnastics
- Falls prevention
To learn more about the best practices from the case study on the creation and sustainability of Fundación Siel Bleu in Spain (phase 1 of the Moov&Smile project), leave us your email address to be alerted as soon as our white paper is published:
Fundación Siel Bleu today is
- 77 graduated professionals
- 7,132 participants per week
- 25,948 sessions in 2019
- 226 sites
- Sessions in 7 Autonomous Communities (regions)
Its added touch
- Fundación Siel Bleu organized a flashmob to prevent sedentary lifestyles among the elderly at a Fira Gran, 2016
- GetphY: it's already 16 video clips made for Boehringer Ingelheim laboratory and soon in Brazil and Germany
- 42 hours of virtual training to continue to provide knowledge and best practices to nursing home care professionals during a pandemic.
- In 2020, Fundación Siel Bleu organized 7 virtual trainings on musculoskeletal disorders for nursing homes Domus Vi. It succeeded in training approximately 140 professionals during 42 hours of training.
And you, when do you start with us?
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