Donostia, Spain will be the host of the next World Congress for Age-friendly Cities and Communities
- The announcement has been made by Mayte Sancho, general director of Imserso, and has been confirmed by WHO: the 3rd World Congress for Age-friendly Cities and Communities will be held from 16–18 June 2026 in Donostia/San Sebastián.
- The meeting will bring together representatives from all over the world to share good practices, public policies, and experiences in building more inclusive environments for older people.
Donostia, 16 June 2025 – Donostia/San Sebastián, Spain is the chosen city to host the ‘3rd World Congress of Age-friendly Cities and Communities’ which will take place on 16, 17, and 18 June 2026. This was announced on Monday by Mayte Sancho, the General Director of the Institute for Seniors and Social Services (Imserso), belonging to the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and the 2030 Agenda, from the Foral Palace of Gipuzkoa. The meeting, which is held under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO), co-sponsor of the event, will bring together representatives from around the world to share best practices, public policies, and experiences in creating more age-friendly environments. Sancho made the announcement accompanied by Nerea Melgosa, the Councilor for Welfare, Youth, and Demographic Challenge of the Basque Government, and deputies Eider Mendoza and Maite Peña.
The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulated Spain on its designation as the host for the World Congress next year during its annual Assembly held in Geneva on May 19th. With this designation, “the WHO recognizes the commitment of the Government of Spain to urban and rural innovation, intergenerational coexistence, and measures aimed at improving the quality of life for older people and the entire population,” highlighted Mayte Sancho, present at this annual meeting. Donostia/San Sebastián was the first city in Spain to embrace this program promoted by the WHO back in 2009, creatinga diagnosis and a plan that, to this day, remains a benchmark throughout the state in the approach to being friendly to older adults.
The event, co-sponsored by the WHO and organized by Imserso in collaboration with the Basque Government and other Basque administrations, will bring together representatives from cities, communities, regions and countries from around the world that are part of the network, as well as international experts who will share their knowledge related to generational transversalism, diversity, healthy aging, and the social participation of older people, among other topics. “We live in one of the longest-lived countries in the world, which is why we actively promote associations for older people to participate in decision-making processes. This is also to adapt Spanish society to aging,” said the director general of Imserso.
Thus, the World Congress that Spain will host next year is part of the activities promoted by the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, an initiative launched by the WHO in 2010 and which is an integral part of the action plan for the UN Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030). “The generations entering old age are changing radically, especially towards better living conditions in all its dimensions,” emphasized Mayte Sancho. The Global Network, which today brings together more than 1,700 cities and communities in over 60 countries, aims to stimulate and facilitate the process for cities and communities around the world to become increasingly age-friendly and promote healthy aging throughout life. In Spain, there are around 270 cities and communities currently part of this program, 59 of them in the Basque Country.
During the ‘3rd World Congress for Age-friendly Cities and Communities’, it is expected that, in addition to local authorities and international experts, social organizations and older people from various member cities will participate. It will be an event that aims to advance the mission of the Global Network, connecting people, cities, and communities around the world to facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge, and experiences, in order to inspire change by demonstrating what can be done and how to do it, based on innovative and appropriate solutions for their contexts. “This will be a unique opportunity to continue building more humane, equitable cities that are prepared for all stages of life,” concluded Sancho.
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