EuroHealthNet Country Exchange Visit: Active and Healthy Ageing: an integrated approach to health, social and community care (Members only meeting)

Venice, Italy
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Europe’s population is ageing rapidly, bringing both opportunities and challenges for health and social systems, communities, and policymakers. Ensuring that people not only live longer but also live healthier, more active, and fulfilling lives has become a key objective of European public health and social policy. Achieving this goal requires an integrated, cross-sectoral approach that promotes wellbeing, autonomy, and participation throughout the life course. Enabling environments, prevention, and social engagement are all essential to help people maintain independence and connection as they age. 

The Veneto Region provides a strong example of how an integrated approach can be put into practice. Its Regional Law on Active Ageing and Regional Council for Active Ageing foster collaboration between health, social, and community actors to empower older people, prevent dependency, and strengthen intergenerational solidarity. The Local Health and Social Care Authorities (ULSS) play a crucial role in coordinating prevention and community-based services that respond to local needs. The region also supports a wide range of local projects and community-based initiatives that translate these policies into concrete actions, focusing on prevention, empowerment, and inclusion. 

This exchange takes place within a broader European and global policy context, aligned with the WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), the upcoming WHO European Strategy on Ageing is Living (2026-2023), the  2022 European Care Strategy and the Council Recommendation on access to affordable, high-quality, long-term care, the EU “Healthier Together” Initiative on Non-Communicable Diseases, and the EU’s Green Paper on Ageing. Together, these frameworks call for comprehensive, person-centred, and preventive approaches that promote healthy ageing, strengthen community care, and reduce social and territorial inequalities.¹ 

Aims and objectives 

This Country Exchange Visit, hosted by the Veneto Region will bring together representatives of national and regional public health agencies and related organisations from across Europe to exchange knowledge and experiences on healthy and active ageing within an integrated health and social framework. 

Participants will: 

• Explore policies and governance frameworks supporting healthy and active ageing. 

• Examine how integrated health and social care approaches contribute to promoting wellbeing, autonomy, and participation among older people. 

• Share and discuss good practices, programmes, and innovations that foster active and healthy ageing through community-based, preventive, and person-centred interventions. 

• Reflect on lessons learned to inform cooperation at European, national, and regional levels and policymaking on healthy ageing, contributing to the implementation of related EU policies and frameworks. 

• Visit local initiatives to observe practical examples of intersectoral collaboration.  

Practical details: 

• EuroHealthNet Country Exchange Visits are member-only events that are open to senior delegates.  

• Please note that all participants will be required to invest some time in preparing for the event, for example, by presenting information from their country.  

• Country Exchange Visits are held in English. Unfortunately, no interpretation service will be available. Due to the interactive nature of Country Exchange Visits, it is therefore advised that the representative attending feels comfortable exchanging information in English.  

• Participants should arrive on Wednesday, 25 March 2026, as the programme will start on Thursday 26 March at 9:00 CEST, and are kindly requested to stay until the end of the Country Exchange Visit, on Friday, 27 March at 15:00 CEST.  

• EuroHealthNet can fund the participation (travel and accommodation) of a limited number of members. EuroHealthNet will contact you with confirmation if you can attend on a funded basis. Additional self-funded spots may be available upon request.  

Find the draft agenda for this Country Exchange Visit here. Please be advised that the programme can still change.

If you are a EuroHealthNet member and wants to express your interest to participate, please apply by filling out this form.

If you have any questions, please contact Lina Papartyte at the EuroHealthNet Office.