The Department of Social Rights and Welfare and the Chambers of Commerce of Oviedo, Gijón, and Avilés signed a collaboration agreement on Tuesday for the second phase of the social innovation pilot project Laboratorio Centro de Competencia para la Economía del Cuidado de Larga Duración y el Envejecimiento Activo (Cecoec).
The Principality will allocate 1.9 million to the initiative, funded by European funds from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. Of this amount, the Oviedo Chamber of Commerce will receive 978,469 euros, Gijón 645,790, and Avilés 332,679.
The project will be in effect until the end of this year and, as explained by the Minister of Social Rights and Welfare, Marta del Arco, «seeks to promote innovative and quality business models in the care sector that meet the expectations of active and healthy aging, operating through a virtual center that offers both online and in-person activities.»
This second phase of the project, whose first agreement was signed at the end of 2022, aims to «consolidate and enhance» the actions that have had the most impact in the long-term care sector. Del Arco highlighted a line of work to care for caregivers, which «will explore better ways to support them through digital tools that will assess their level of burden and physical and emotional health, as well as train them to improve the care conditions of the dependent person and themselves.» Additionally, she announced another novelty: the creation of an office for project management and governance, as well as business advisory services.
In addition to the minister, the signing ceremony was attended by the presidents of the Chambers of Commerce of Oviedo, Gijón, Carlos Paniceres, Félix Baragaño, respectively, and the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce of Avilés, José Manuel Vega, as well as the Director General of Social Rights Management, Paula Álvarez, and the Director General of Innovation and Social Change, José Antonio Garmón.
The president of the Oviedo Chamber of Commerce, Carlos Paniceres, emphasized that «the first phase was a successful execution» and stressed the importance of ensuring that European funds «are not lost and reach their destination.» «We have a problem, which is the aging of our people, but it is also an opportunity. We must manage it and work for quality care and to take care of those who care,» he stated.
He also highlighted the importance of the care sector as a job creator. «This sector will have to train and employ many more people in the coming years. Furthermore, the cluster will also be launched, and we hope to achieve the objectives as we did in the first agreement,» he said, emphasizing that the Asturian model has already attracted the interest of other autonomous communities.
«We are tremendously proud that you have trusted us. We truly believe in these public-private collaboration models and are available for new projects, including in other departments,» added the president of the Gijón Chamber of Commerce, Félix Baragaño. These words were echoed by the vice president of the Avilés Chamber of Commerce, José Manuel Vega, who praised the work done by the department.
ACTIVITY OF THE CENTER
The minister positively evaluated the results of the first phase of Cecoec, which, she said, «contributed to a cultural change» in addressing aging and care, as well as generating useful strategic knowledge for sector transformation.
Since its inception, Cecoec has advised private centers and services, with the participation of over 200 individuals and companies. Additionally, 1,700 hours of training have been provided to around 900 people, and three meetings focused on innovation and social and health technologies to improve the quality of life for the elderly have been organized, with over 1,200 participants, almost 70 stands, and more than 2,500 visitors.
Forums have also been convened on technological solutions for active and healthy aging, opportunities in Asturias for new aging trends, design of facilitating environments, and changes for the delivery of quality care, with over 800 participants. Furthermore, innovative technological solutions have been promoted to enhance the quality of life for users of long-term care services, with the participation of 40 companies.
