INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

In our Region, more than one fifth of residents are people aged 65 and over. Seniors constitute a large and increasingly active social group – many of them remain professionally active, develop their own passions, and use modern technologies. On the occasion of Grandmother’s Day and Grandfather’s Day, celebrated on 21 and 22 January, representatives of senior communities from the region met with Vice-Marshal of the Region Aneta Jędrzejewska at the Ethnographic Museum in Toruń.

“Thank you very much for accepting our invitation (…). You are the foundation of our families, a treasury of memories and a source of knowledge; it is to you that grandchildren turn with all their problems, and it is you who set the directions for their development. On behalf of the Region Executive Board, I thank you for being our guiding light (…). The regional self-government attaches great importance to people of senior age; we strive to create conditions so that you do not feel lonely,” Vice-Marshal Aneta Jędrzejewska addressed those gathered.

The meeting was also attended by members of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Council of Seniors, as well as invited guests from senior communities (including the Council). The program included expert lectures on diabetes as a pandemic of the 21st century and on behavioral addictions among seniors, as well as a performance by the “Sami Swoi” Senior Club ensemble from Świerczynki (Toruń County).

Information about the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Council of Seniors can be found here.

The composition of the Council is available.

According to data from the Central Statistical Office in Bydgoszcz, at the end of December 2024 older people (the population aged 65 and over) accounted for 20.9% of the total population of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region. Over the year, the number of seniors in the region increased by as many as 10,000 people. This is a significant rise; therefore, recognizing this trend, the regional self-government is implementing a carefully planned senior policy – our response to the needs and expectations of older people.

Home telecare – the so-called life bands – is a home telecare program based on wrist-worn mobile devices used to summon help. Between 2018 and 2023, more than 3,000 people benefited from the program; thanks to the project “Kujawsko-Pomorskie Telecare – Stage I” (2024–2026), another 3,500 people will join this group.

An important element of the program is neighborly support – help with shopping, preparing meals, getting to medical appointments and dealing with official matters, as well as reading aloud, walks, conversations, and companionship. The program was launched in 2021 and by the end of this year is expected to reach more than 4,000 seniors.

Day Care Homes are support centers intended for people who are not fully independent due to age or disability. Participants take part, among other things, in physical and therapeutic activities and workshops that develop interests; transportation to and from the facility is provided. Activation is led by qualified psychologists, physiotherapists, and animators. Thanks to funds from our operational program European Funds for Kujawy and Pomorze (FEdKP) 2021-2027, eighty-three such facilities will receive support.

In parallel, the project “Development of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Network of Day Care Homes” (July 2025-October 2028) is being implemented, under which five additional Day Care Homes will be established in the municipalities of Kruszwica, Łysomice, the Town of Chełmża, Gąsawa, and Bartniczka.

From the Marshal’s participatory budget, we are allocating a further – and record-breaking on a national scale – PLN 85 million to establish senior clubs and implement projects addressed to older residents of the region. Grants are awarded through local action groups. In senior clubs, older people take part in sports activities, handicraft workshops, learn foreign languages, participate in integration meetings, and go on trips to cinemas and theaters.

For years, the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region has been implementing a number of preventive programs aimed at seniors, including a pneumococcal infection prevention program for adults, screening tests for abdominal aortic aneurysm, and fall-prevention programs for seniors.

Since 2018, the Marshal of the Region has honored residents of the region who reach the age of one hundred with the Unitas Durat Palatinatus Cuiaviano-Pomeraniensis medal. Information about this initiative is available in the Peers of Independence section. In the pre-holiday period, seniors honored with the Marshal’s Unitas Durat medal received symbolic gifts, delivered directly to their homes. The initiative involved Marshal Piotr Całbecki, President of the Regional Parliament Elżbieta Piniewska, Members of the Regional Executive Board, and Regional Councillors.

Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

15 January 2026