The “headquarters” on the national basis of the Active and Healthy Aging project was given place in Loulé, as part of the passage this Thursday in the presence of the Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Portugal Christopher Saint in the city. This diplomatic representative to the Algarve.
Nuno Marques, National Coordinator of the Active and Healthy Aging Program and Director of the Center for Active Aging Competence (CCEA), is tasked with providing one of the four new Ethics Centers in the country of the Employment and Professional Training Institute. For this sector in Loulay.
Temporarily located in the industrial zone of Loulé, the center aims to help define and implement aging policies, particularly in a key area, the training and education of caregivers and informal caregivers. Municipality of Luledana.
The British delegation had the opportunity to visit the facilities resulting from the agreement between the RePEnSA network (uniting European accredited Portuguese centres) Employment and Vocational Training Institute, Social Security Agency and ABC – Algarve Biomedical Centre. in this area of aging).
In the future, a headquarters will be built on land provided by the Municipality of Lule, where all national and international activities related to this matter will be coordinated.
The CCEA involves an investment of more than 12 million euros, including 6 million euros in facilities and equipment over the next 3 years. It is planned to recruit 56 qualified human resources to carry out its operations.
Nuno Marques informed the British Ambassador of some of the guidelines included in the Active and Healthy Aging Action Plan, which will bring together all national policies and is in the final stages of legislative approval. Furthermore, it will be the first project at European level with localized activities for this area, adding the same note.
Regarding this close connection between Portugal and the United Kingdom, Nuno Marques believes that cooperation and articulation in this field can be maintained between the two countries, as there are “good examples on both sides”.
On October 9, Loulé hosts a summit entitled “Age-friendly cities and communities”, organized by the Directorate of Health, the City Council of Loulé and the World Health Organization, with the Algarve Region as Chair. In this sense, it will be the first “age-friendly zone” to be signed.
As of 2018, healthy aging is also a priority for the British government, which has been considered one of the country’s top four social challenges and “over the past 5 years, the embassy has sought to establish a bilateral dialogue on this issue”. 4 annual forums between the 2 countries on this topic, with the participation of government members, local authorities, academics, representatives of the so-called third sector, companies and other organizations, reflect this common concern. In the first quarter of 2024, the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Portugal will present the study “Health equals wealth”, which outlines “the challenges and the economic and social opportunities that the significant increase in average life expectancy in recent decades opens up for us”.
“I believe we can count on the help of the City of Lulew, the Center for Active Aging Skills and the National Aging Observatory to deepen the dialogue between our countries and promote healthy aging of our population,” said Christopher Santi.
As Loulé is one of the most populous Portuguese municipalities with British citizens, the ambassador thanked Loulé City Council for its “kindness and kindness towards members of the British community” during Brexit.
Vítor Aleixo said the process of issuing passports to British citizens has been “successful” with the necessary equipment installed. In his words, the Mayor of Loulé highlighted the municipality’s commitment to creating conditions for its citizens in this area of active and healthy aging and engaging in projects such as the observatory created in Alte.
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