Extremadura claims that the demographic characteristics of the regions are taken into account at the Local Event of the Open Days
The Director General of External Action of the Regional Government of Extremadura and alternate member of the Committee of the Regions, Enrique Barrasa, participated in the Local Event of the Open Days in Extremadura, which has been inaugurated by the Regional Minister of Health and Socio-Health Policy, Luis Alfonso Hernández Carrón.
He has stressed that demographic change is one of the main future challenges in Europe. Being aware of those challenges, he has highlighted that “Extremadura works actively to ensure that the demographic characteristics of the regions are taken into account in European policies .
Barrasa has participated along with the managing director of SEPAD (the Regional Service for Dependency Care), Cristina Herrera, in the seminar "Demographic challenges and active aging in EUROACE: Innovation Strategies", which was held in Badajoz. The Euroregion EUROACE is formed by Extremadura and the Portuguese Algarve and Central regions, three border regions that work together to find ways of cross-border cooperation.
More than 200 people have attended the seminar. The audience has been composed of technicians and representatives responsible for social assistance programs; health area managers, social workers; academics and scholars interested in demographic and welfare issues; associations and companies engaged in the social care of the elderly; directors and technicians of nursing homes, pensioners’ houses, among others.
The responsible for External Action in Extremadura has advanced that the region will promote and defend several amendments on this matter at the next meeting of the Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) of the Committee of the Regions and has stressed that Extremadura is actively involved in the European Network of Regions with Demographic Challenges and the Forum of Spanish Regions with Demographic Challenges.
At the same time, Enrique Barrasa said that the challenges of demographic change can also be transformed into opportunities. The Government of Extremadura, in its Smart Specialisation Strategy, prioritized the promotion of technologies for quality of life that transform geo-demographic characteristics of the region in sources of opportunities. This can be possible by enabling active aging, bringing public services to areas with low population density and providing opportunities through R&D&i to create new businesses and jobs.
Extremadura is the only Spanish region Objective 1 for the EU and, after a long negotiation process, more than 3 billion euro have been allocated for the region for the next seven years. These funds will allow important investments in the region that will impact on improving the quality of life of the citizens.
OPEN DAYS
The local event “Demographic Cahllenges and active aging in the EUROACE: Innovation Strategies“, held in Badajoz, is part of OPEN DAYS - European Week of Regions and Cities. This annual event organized by the Committee of the Regions and the European Commission allows local and regional authorities to show their potential for job creation and growth and to implement EU cohesion policy, as well as to emphasize the importance of local and regional level for the good governance of the Union.
Extremadura will participate on October 7 in Brussels at a seminar on “Inequalities in Health as a Demographic challenge: applied research to create smart growth with the regions of Lodzkie (Poland), Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal), Sardinia (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Vysocina (Czec Republic).