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IBERLONGEVA is a cross-border cooperation project co-financed by the European Union through the Interreg VI-A Spain–Portugal (POCTEP) 2021–2027 Programme
The University of Salamanca, through the International Centre on Ageing (CENIE), presented on Monday, May 11, at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, the final report of the research The Right to Care and the Care Economy in Spain. The event featured the participation of the Managing Authority and the national authority of POCTEP.
The study is part of the cross-border cooperation project IBERLONGEVA, co-financed by the European Union through the Interreg VI-A Spain–Portugal (POCTEP) 2021–2027 Programme, and it offers a particularly relevant reflection in the current context of increasingly ageing societies: care and the right to be cared for must be understood as a fundamental social right. According to the report, this right cannot depend exclusively on families nor be conditioned by place of residence, economic situation, or the existence of personal support networks.
DOWNLOAD THE STUDY: RIGHT TO CARE
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The research also highlights the importance of this issue in the Spanish–Portuguese cross-border area, where phenomena such as population ageing, depopulation, territorial dispersion, and difficulties in accessing services create common challenges on both sides of the border. In this context, the care economy also emerges as an opportunity for job creation, strengthening proximity services, retaining population, and promoting new dynamics of economic and social development.
The study proposes moving towards a more just, co-responsible, and territorially balanced care model, adapted to the challenges of longevity. It also highlights the role of care as a central element of the welfare state and as a strategic area for the future of the cross-border territory.
The presentation event will include the participation of the Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy. The full content of the report will also be presented, as it is currently in its final review phase prior to publication.
The organisation highlighted the value of the results achieved within the POCTEP programme, which is promoting cross-border cooperation projects with a direct impact on quality of life, social innovation, and the development of increasingly ageing societies.