The III World Summit of Friendly Cities and Communities is taking place these days in Donostia, with Mayor Ana Azkoitia attending the Mayors' Forum. She shared the session with other mayors from Araba, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa, as well as international representatives. The main discussion centered on urban policies for older adults, governance models, and cooperation networks.
Mayor Azkoitia announced that several summit participants will visit Azkoitia on Friday to learn about the Pasira project. The council emphasized that the Donostia summit is a "benchmark" international event, promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Imserso.
At the summit, representatives, professionals, and experts from various countries shared perspectives, experiences, and learnings on the challenges and opportunities presented by an aging society. It was highlighted that the aging population is transforming all areas of urban life, creating new challenges and opportunities in fields such as housing, public space, mobility, care, democratic participation, employment, local economy, lifelong learning, the climate emergency, and forms of coexistence and community life.
In this context, the council stated the need for local governments to rethink their policies, governance models, cooperation networks, and forms of collective organization.
