Loulé’s Centre of Active Ageing Skills (CCEA) opened in 2023
Loulé continued its efforts to promote healthy and active aging by taking part in a meeting with international experts in Finland last month.
The Algarve municipality attended the third core meeting of the ‘One Health 4 Cities’ project, held in Lathi (Finland) from February 12 to 14. Also in attendance were representatives from local authorities of Lyon and Strasbourg (France), Munich (Germany), Elefsina (Greece), Benissa (Spain), Suceava (Romania), and Kuopio and Lathi (Finland).
The host town, which in 2021 received the European Green Capital Award, served as an example to follow, with its innovative projects in the areas of environmental education, nature sports and ecological transition being highlighted.
The participating cities and towns also attended an international conference entitled ‘People & Planet 2024,’ organised by the University of Helsinki (Finland) and described as event that “attracted experts from all over Europe and where the latest scientific studies related to health, the environment, and informal physical activity were presented,” says Loulé’s municipal council in a statement to the press.
“For the participants, the meeting was enriching. Despite the clear differences between Loulé and Lahti, the challenges are very similar, with the difference lying in the form and strategies each city uses to address them,” the council adds.
“Loulé’s objective is to continue the work it started in 2015, which involves promoting the health of its population through informal physical activity. However, in this case, the focus will be on seniors and active aging – an area where a considerable amount of work has already been done,” the statement reads.
The local council cites the works carried out in public spaces in Loulé and Quarteira as part of the ‘Vital Cities’ project, which created spaces for citizens to do sports and be physically active. It also mentions the ‘Healthy Cities’ project, which focused mostly on the issue of “soft mobility”, particularly near primary schools. “To support the project, the municipality invested in equipping schools with bicycles and also in promoting children’s first contact with bicycles through classes in school premises, given the high number of children who did not know how to ride a bike.,” the council says.
On a closing note, it adds that “active and healthy aging” has been a key issue for the municipality in recent years, giving the example of Loulé’s Centre of Active Ageing Skills (CCEA) which was inaugurated in April 2023.
