Juan Albarrán Ariztegui

A graduate in Applied Sociology from the Public University of Navarre (2016), they have furthered their training in participatory processes and methodologies through the Latin American Council of the Social Sciences (CLACSO, 2021), as well as in qualitative research and social innovation. She is a researcher at the Matia Institute, specialising in ageing, community participation, environment-friendliness, ageism and the autonomy of older people.

In the Basque Country, Lagunkoia is responsible for the territorial support of 23 municipalities in Álava, promoting citizen and community participation processes and preparing methodological guides and tools to promote friendliness in the network's municipalities. It also coordinates Lagunkoia Farmacy, to strengthen the community role of pharmacies and their collaboration with social and health services. It also participates in Lugaritzen and EtxeZainen, projects centred on housing, support and personalised assistance, to promote people's autonomy and life projects.

She has participated in the design of the 2026-2029 Basque Strategy for Older People and in the evaluation and design of the new Action Plan for the Friendly Cities for Older People initiative in Madrid (2024-2025). She is the lead researcher for #100fluencers (2025), a project on stereotypes of ageing in digital media. Previously, she researched active ageing and community development in rural environments. They were responsible for the first coliving in Iruñea and the Iruñea Citizens' Observatory and Laboratory, as part of Mayor 59. They have presented talks at sociology conferences and published work on active ageing, rural development, and community intervention in various venues, including Zerbitzuan, FAECAP, the Rural Studies Foundation, and the Spanish Sociological Federation (FES), among others.