Presentation used in the seminar "Creating an age-friendly European Union" organised by AGE Platform and Committee of the Regions, in Brussels. Active Ageing Policy's key factors in Biscay are explained.

1. Active
Ageing
Policy
in Biscay
Brussels, 20th November 2012.
Sergio MURILLO CORZO
Director General for Social Inclusion @muricor
Biscay Provincial Government sergio.murillo@bizkaia.net

2. Overview of the population of Biscay
Global population: 1.152.406 (2011, EUSTAT).
– 76% concentrated in Bilbao city area.
– 112 municipalities.
Ageing population:
– 19,8% aged over 65 (2010).
– 38,8% expected to be over 65 (2050).
Wealthy country:
– GDP per capita: 36% over EU level.
– Important amount of industrial activity.

3. The challenge
As far as we looked to our citizens, we
met…
– An ageing society.
– A population with great life expectancy.
– A wish to keep good living conditions longer.
The answer should be different…
…but person centric.

4. The answer
United Nations Think globally…
ACTIVE AGEING definition from
European Commission WHO: process of optimizing
opportunities for health, participation
Central Government and security in order to enhance
quality of life as people age.
Basque Government
…act locally.
Provincial Government
Subsidiarity principle to tackle the
challenge (Treaty of Maastricht).
Municipal Authorities

5. Up to now…
This trip took us to a Biscay where:
– Transversal approach of active ageing is being
included by policy makers.
– Seniors Board influences policy makers.
– Mass Media agreed a style manual for
language use when dealing with age.
– Every village has got an elderly people
association:
• With an annual activity calendar.
• An active board of members.

6. What can be learned
Key factors:
– Changing the paradigm: from “doing for” to
“doing with”.
– Political representatives‟ and public sector
professionals‟ commitment.
– Empowerment of elder people‟s local
associations.

7. What can be learned (II)
Changing the paradigm: from “doing for” to
“doing with”:
– Setting up a „Seniors Board‟, a deliberative
body with representatives both form seniors
associations and institutions (2005).
– Building a common strategy, some shared
documents:
• Bizkaia Manifesto for Active Ageing (2007).
• Action plan for Active Ageing (2010).

8. What can be learned (III)
Political representatives‟ and public sector
professionals‟ commitment:
– To start a long term strategy (no quick wins).
– To allocate some money from the budget.
– To share the leadership.
– Not to have the answer in advance.
– To push other Departments to include the
approach in their policies.

9. What can be learned (IV)
Empowerment of elder people‟s local
associations:
– Annual funding for the local associations.
– As a formula for active ageing, itself.
– As civic society‟s involvement (botton-up
approach).
– As a guarantee of the deployment of the
strategy to every corner of the county (top-down
approach).

10. The challenge: EIP-AHA
Inclusion:
– Increasing participation in local Agenda21.
– Setting up clusters of stakeholders in the
municipalities.
Others:
– Dissemination of contribution to society.
– Predicting new barriers, such as ICT gap.
New generational “relay” with new expectations

11. Active
Ageing
Policy
in Biscay
Brussels, 20th November 2012.
Sergio MURILLO CORZO
Director General for Social Inclusion @muricor
Biscay Provincial Government sergio.murillo@bizkaia.net