Final Event -Valencia 2026

On 19 February 2026, the international conference "European Networks in Action. Advancing Care, Enriching Lives" in Valencia, Spain.

The Minister of Social Services, Family and Childhood, Elena Albalat, of Spain, during her opening speech, defended the view that the response to the demographic challenge in Europe involves "joining efforts and achieving important common goals" that guarantee "stable, sustainable, humane and quality care systems, which leave no one behind".

Ms. Albalat made these statements at the presentation of the international conference "European Networks in Action. Promoting Care, Enriching Lives" on the theme of elderly care and active ageing, organized by the Valencian Institute of Social Services (IVASS).

The meeting is part of the European Network for Local Inclusion and Social Action (ELISAN) as well as the European Network (ENSEL) and brought together authorities and actors from Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Greenland and various regions of Italy, Austria and Romania, as well as from different parts of Spain. For the Minister,  this international presence demonstrates that Europe is "a community of values, cooperation, mutual learning and social commitment".

During her speech, Ms. Albalat stressed that the response to the demographic challenge "cannot be individual or isolated", which is why she chose to "work together, share good practices and move towards common goals that define "how we want to live and how we want to age and, above all, how we want to take care of those who have given everything before us".

Likewise, he defended the fact that in the Valencian Community,  the elderly "are not a passive group, but protagonists of our society, with the right to a full life that includes not only the care of basic needs, but also emotional, social and interpersonal well-being".

Regarding the projects presented, the Minister stressed that "care is not only about providing assistance, but also about enjoying, sharing, traveling, discovering and feeling part of society". In this sense, she underlined the value of initiatives that integrate social tourism, spas and wellness.

Finally, the Head of Social Services of IVASS, and President of the ELISAN network - Anna Maria Jose, stressed the Council's commitment to a vision of care that puts "the dignity of the individual and their right to decide how they want to live" at the center and is committed to a Europe where quality of life depends on "solid political will and loyal cooperation between territories".

Programme and working groups

The conference included several round tables, focusing on the main challenges of care and ageing in Europe, where the improvement of  support for the elderly with dementia and multimorbidity (SACRED Project) was examined, with the presentation of the e-learning platform for students and caregivers, by Mr. Miltos Sakellariou, president of the Cyclades Social Cooperative Enterprise, which participates as a partner of this program.

At the table for the training of professionals and cognitive accessibility in tourism and digital environments (SMARTOUR Project) to promote autonomy and well-being, the project coordinator K. Dagmar, a professor from Greenland, also presented the results of the project, which included, a webinar in 7 languages and in Greek, and the participation of the Cyclades Social Cooperative Enterprise.

SMARTOUR PRESENTATION

The Erasmus+ KA2 SMARTOUR project, which started with a meeting of all partners in December 2023 in Bar, is entering its final phase. The consortium, which, in addition to the Cyclades Social Cooperative Enterprise, consists of educational institutions, but also non-governmental organizations, from Spain, Greece, Romania and Greenland, Montenegro, was presented in Valencia, as the host of this meeting was the Misericordia Public Vocational Training Center there. Representatives of all 5 countries, and 7 partner organizations, spoke about the current implementation of the project, which aims to create a platform with courses in the field of "smart tourism" and includes a wealth of interactive and theoretical content, as well as examples of good practices in the field of sustainable tourism.

This educational material is available to the general public, translated into all 7 languages of the members of this consortium (English, Spanish, Greek, Montenegrin, Danish, Romanian, Greenlandic) and, of course, will be particularly useful in higher education institutions as one of the resources of non-formal, but also formal education in vocational schools. The pilot program is already being implemented in our organization, and soon we will organize a promotional event in Syros and invite all relevant bodies to present to the public of Syros.

The presentation of the webinar to the delegates was made by Dimitra Sakellariou, Head of Information Systems of our organization, and the modules and interactive activities that have been created by the partners and are on the e-learning platform of the Cyclades Social Cooperative Enterprise, which also had the technical responsibility for the creation of the seminar, were presented.

Active ageing and well-being were also discussed (ENSEL NETWORK), delving into the role of social and emotional learning in promoting resilience and inclusion throughout the life cycle. Especially at this table, the presentations of Mr. Willem Philipsen , responsible of the Municipality of Rotterdam for the accessibility policy of the municipality, as well as the excellent presentation of Anna Maria Fosklou, President of AROGI – Association of Visually Impaired People of the Prefecture of Cyclades, for her participation as an accessibility consultant and Guide at the Goulandris Museum.

The meeting concluded with a panel discussion moderated by the Valencian Institute of Social Services, in which professionals from NEURAL, AERTE, LARES and IVASS shared good practices and models of care aimed at seniors, including those with disabilities or mental health problems, reinforcing the Valencian Community's commitment to an innovative, coordinated and human-centered care system.

The detailed program is here:

The event in Valencia was specific for several reasons – it brought together the presentation of 2 Erasmus+ projects because they share the common association of the Cyclades Social Cooperative Enterprise – Alteravita from the Greek island of Syros, but also of IVASS – the Social Welfare Center, also based in Valencia.

This is the SACRED project that focuses on social inclusion, digital skills and support for vulnerable groups (often in the context of people with dementia and disabilities and the elderly).

Another peculiarity refers to the carefully selected locations where the activities took place and during the three working days. It was the Hortensia Herero Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Prehistory with the most modern three-dimensional projection and reproductions of cave drawings, the Carmen Center for Contemporary Culture, and the most attractive Michelin-starred museum-hotel that combines modern minimalism with the city's 2,000-year history. Inside the hotel you can see the ruins of a Roman cornice from the 1st century BC, from the Moorish (Arab) era, a 12th-century defensive wall that once surrounded the city (the Wall of the Almohads). Parts of this massive stone wall pass through the bar and hotel rooms, while Gothic arches and architectural details from later periods of Valencian development are visible. The archaeological finds are not hidden behind glass, but are part of the functional space. The hotel houses the Alma del Temple restaurant, which is often ranked among the most beautiful restaurants in the world.

Networking of this kind will ensure a continuous pipeline of projects, cross-border cooperation, international exchanges and a constant source of innovation.