The UK Ambassador was in Loule to learn about projects on active ageing

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, on land provided by the Municipality of Lule, a headquarters will be built where all national and international activities related to this issue will be coordinated.

The CCEA involves an investment of more than 12 million euros over the next 3 years, including 6 million euros in facilities and equipment. It is planned to recruit 56 qualified human resources to carry out its operations.

Nuno Marquez briefed the British Ambassador on some of the guidelines included in the Active and Healthy Aging Action Plan, a document that 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, considered one of the country’s top four social challenges and “over the last 5 years, the Embassy has sought to establish a bilateral dialogue on this matter”. 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 Active Aging Skills Center and the National Aging Observatory to deepen the dialogue between our countries and promote the healthy aging of our population,” said Christopher Saint.

As Loulé is one of the most populous Portuguese municipalities with a British population, 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.