Porto is a Reference Site for Healthy Ageing in the European Union

On December 7, the city of Porto was recognized European Reference Site for active and healthy aging, with a two-star rating, in a ceremony, held in Brussels. The award was presented by European Commissioner Gunther Oettinger and the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula.

The Municipality of Porto and the University of Porto have submitted Porto4Ageing for the Reference Site rating on European Active and Healthy Ageing under the initiative European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing last April. The application gathered 83 partners, of which 18 Caregivers; 12 from Industry; 37 from Academia; and 16 End users.

This new Consortium, was created to foster the debate on active and healthy aging in the metropolitan area of Porto. Integrating different participants from Caregivers, to Industry, Academia and End users, Porto4Ageing gathers more than 80 organizations, among which is Fraunhofer AICOS.

Porto4Ageing consortium is committed to promoting the local convergence as improving health innovation ecosystem and contributing to the reduction of the differences between public and private actions and instruments.

The benefits for being a Reference Site for Healthy Ageing are manifold. The city can play a catalyst role in the region, bringing other stakeholders on board to sharing good practices and networking.