Meeting: ‘A caring environment? Reflections on public spaces and local services’

Care for older people has traditionally taken a welfare-based approach, leaving the people themselves out of the design of the resources and services that serve them, placing them in a position of subordination and invisibility. In recent years, however, this model of care has been changing, encouraging people to participate in policies and strategies that directly affect them, especially those at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion, in the generation of knowledge and in the fight for their rights.
It is essential to rethink the way society is organised and to do so from a common and community-based approach, taking into account the needs, difficulties and aspirations of the different groups and communities that make up society.
For this reason, during 2025, EAPN-ES has been conducting research on ‘Ageing, community support services and inclusive environments’, which aims to analyse these environments, the needs that exist within them and how they are being met from the perspective of people over 65. This meeting is part of this process of generating common knowledge, promoting not only exchanges with experts and professionals in these fields, but also a participatory session in which those attending the meeting will continue to develop strategies and scenarios for the future.
Matia Instituto will participate in the panel discussion: ‘From theory to practice: How to bring care into everyday life’, in which it will talk about different projects that focus on aspects such as friendliness, care ecosystems, etc.