Agile experiments: families exercise together – easily, quickly, effortlessly

In the spring, the City of Tampere sought ideas from businesses to promote the well-being of children and young people. The aim was for the solutions to serve the needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic in particular, but would also be effective outside emergency conditions once the situation normalised. In total, 10 proposals were received, three of which were selected through further discussions. One of the selected ideas is a family exercise application, which created five physical activity routes as urban challenges in Tampere. Launched in August, the Geego Kids app is available in both Google Play and Apple’s App Store. 

The urban challenges were planned in collaboration with education services, and the trial was inspired and backed up by information collected from 4th graders on their favourite leisure habits.

“We wanted to respond quickly to the changed situation by developing well-being solutions together with pupils and companies. The aim is for children and young people themselves to be able to influence the definition and promotion of their own health and well-being,” says Head of Development Harri Jurvela.

The aim of the trial is to provide families with easy and fun things to do together. Each urban challenge includes agility and mobility tasks for children and a personal trainer’s exercise programme for adults. The app guides the route, with clear videos on the tasks along the way.

The urban challenges are located in Kauppi, Peltolammi, Suolijärvi, the city centre and Hatanpää arboretum. The arboretum route is easily accessible, also for wheelchair users. Only one smart device is required to complete the routes.

-It has been great to see that we share the same values with the City of Tampere, and working together has been really inspiring. Physical activity and family time do not have to compete with smart devices – Geego combines them all!  The idea is that Geego belongs to everyone. Therefore, all urban challenges are free of charge for players. It would be great if Tampere residents and tourists became acquainted with Tampere’s most spectacular city centre sights and nature destinations. The Geego team has been impressed by the amazing routes that can be found so close to Tampere city centre, says Heidi Leivo, CEO of Geego Kids Ltd.

The urban challenges in Tampere are available free of charge until the end of the year. In addition to the urban challenge, the first three sections in the “Haasteet” and “Tenavamaailma” divisions of the Geego Kids app are free of charge. In “Haasteet” you can test different physical challenges, and “Tenavamaailma” familiarises children under school-age with physical activity together with the Geego mascot. Award methods familiar from the gaming world keep Geego interesting and make users want to progress to the next task. Feedback will be collected from users of the Tampere urban challenges and taken into account in planning possible future use.

Bringing the city and its residents, businesses and communities together is at the core of Tampere’s strategy. Co-creation in the Smart Tampere programme has already resulted in more than 50 different solutions. Methods vary, but a common factor is the opening up of challenges to companies and communities and the aim of creating better solutions to meet the needs of the city and its residents. Among the solutions have been technological solutions and service concepts to facilitate day-to-day activities, for example.

 

Additional information:
Merja Maijala
Project Manager
Smart Tampere
+358 50 486 1253
merja.maijala@businesstampere.com

Photo: Laura Vanzo / Visit Tampere

 

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