With the infrastructure in place, it's now time for Maia to invest in people, according to António Gonçalves Bragança Fernandes, the leader of Maia Municipal Council, who hosted a visit from European local and regional authorities today.
The Members of the European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) visited the Portuguese town of Maia near Porto (Portugal) today to discuss how older generations can be more active citizens and visited a number of active citizenship and participation programmes in practice.
Maia promotes active ageing in many of its dimensions: intergenerational dialogue; lifelong learning; civic participation; health and well-being. 60% of the city budget is dedicated to social policies - education, culture, sports and pure social policy; in 2014 it was European capital of sport; in 2013 it joined the UN network of 'Elderly friendly cities'.
As Article 25 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights states:
"The Union recognises and respects the rights of the elderly to lead a life of dignity and independence and to participate in social and cultural life".