Ageing and Long-Term Care Excellence Award
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This award recognises a public authority or social services provider that has demonstrated outstanding commitment to improving ageing and long-term care. It honours initiatives that provide high-quality, person-centred, and sustainable care solutions that enhance the wellbeing, dignity, and autonomy of older adults, particularly those requiring long-term care and support.
Examples of key areas of ageing and long-term care excellence in social services:
- Person-Centred and Dignified Care – Implementing care models that prioritise the needs, preferences, and autonomy of older adults, ensuring respect and dignity in care facilities.
- Community-Based and Home Care Innovations – Strengthening alternatives to institutional care, such as home care, day centres, and integrated community support to help older people remain independent for longer.
- Dementia and Cognitive Care Support – Developing specialised services, training, and support systems for individuals with dementia and Alzheimer and their caregivers.
- Workforce Development and Support – Investing in recruitment, training, and well-being strategies for long-term care workers, ensuring a skilled and resilient workforce.
- Promoting Active Ageing – Encouraging community engagement, intergenerational programmes, and participation in social and cultural activities to prevent loneliness and isolation.
- Sustainability and Long-Term Care Financing – Implementing cost-effective, scalable, and sustainable policies that ensure the financial viability of ageing and long-term care services.
Special consideration is given to initiatives that:
- Adopt an innovative approach to ageing and long-term care that enhances quality of life and service effectiveness.
- Empower older adults and their families, ensuring they have an active role in care decisions.
- Strengthen workforce resilience, improving the situation of the workforce and career pathways for long-term care professionals.
- Show measurable impact, demonstrating improved outcomes in health, social wellbeing, and autonomy for older people.
- Are scalable and transferable, offering best practices that can inspire similar models across Europe.
ESSA 2025 Voting
The public voting period for the 2025 European Social Services Awards has now closed, and the winners in each category will be awarded at our 2025 European Social Services Awards Ceremony taking place in Madrid, Spain on 13-14 November.
Ageing and Long-Term Care Excellence Award 2025 Nominees
Title: “Connecting Generations through Fairy Tales”
Organisation: Fabijoniškės Social Services Home (Vilnius City Council), Lithuania
More information here: https://vilnius.lt/
This project addresses loneliness and social exclusion among older people and persons living with dementia by creating meaningful intergenerational connections. Seniors, supported by youth volunteers, regularly visit kindergartens in Vilnius, Lithuania, to share fairy tales and life experiences, fostering imagination, empathy, and respect among children.
These sessions provide seniors with a renewed sense of purpose, challenge stereotypes about ageing, and help young volunteers develop social sensitivity and communication skills. The activity also strengthens community ties by bringing together three often disconnected groups: older people, young volunteers, and preschool children.
Feedback shows strong positive impact: over 90% of children express joy after sessions, educators report improved emotional openness and language skills, and seniors describe the experience as “a breath of life.” Since its launch, the project has involved 16 seniors, visited 14 kindergartens, and directly reached around 400 people.
Title: “A Sustainable Model for Active Ageing: The Mother City Approach”
Organisation: Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, Türkiye
More information here: https://www.annesehir.com/aktifyaslanma/
The Mobilising Women Through Health, Empowerment and Resilience (MOTHER) Programme is transforming the lives of women aged 55+ in Kocaeli, Türkiye, by addressing social isolation, chronic health challenges, and limited access to preventive care.
Delivered across 14 neighbourhood centres, the programme provides free, person-centred services including physical activity sessions, nutrition counselling, psychological support, and peer-led cultural workshops. Each woman co-designs her own care plan, fostering autonomy, confidence, and a stronger sense of community connection. A multidisciplinary team of 62 professionals offers ongoing guidance, supported by a digital health tracking system that monitors progress and enables tailored interventions. Since its launch in 2022, the programme has reached more than 14,600 women, with around 4,800 participating every year.
The results are striking: participants report significant improvements in mobility, emotional well-being, and overall life satisfaction, along with reduced feelings of loneliness and decreased reliance on medication.
Fully publicly funded, MOTHER represents a replicable, rights-based model of healthy ageing that promotes dignity and purpose. Its success is now inspiring municipalities across Türkiye to adopt similar approaches, creating a broader movement for community-led care and empowerment.
Title: “Connected Supports for Personal Autonomy (ACAP)”
Organisation: ATAM, Spain
More information here: https://www.atam.es/en/home/
Connected Supports for Personal Autonomy (ACAP) addresses rising frailty, disability, chronic illness, and loneliness among older people in Aragón, Spain, by combining smart-home and telehealth technology with in-person multidisciplinary support.
Participants co-design an Individual Connected Support Plan, blending health monitoring, mobility aids, personal assistance, and social activities to maintain autonomy. Services are coordinated between social and healthcare teams through a shared digital platform, ensuring timely, preventive interventions. The programme reaches 2,190 users across 33 rural and urban districts, installing over 3,240 smart-home sensors, 1,453 mobility devices, and delivering more than 65,000 hours of personal assistance.
Early results show high satisfaction (9.56/10), improved perceived safety, and timely resolution of 194 emergencies. Group activities foster social connection, while clinical alerts enable lifestyle or medication adjustments without hospital visits. ACAP’s integrated, data-driven model demonstrates measurable gains in quality of life and system efficiency, offering a scalable blueprint for technology-enabled, person-centred care.
Title: “Breaking the Mobility Barrier in Healthcare”
Organisation: Lura Care, Spain
More information here: https://lura.care/
This project tackles mobility challenges faced by elderly and dependent people by delivering home-based dental, audiological, and optical healthcare services. Since 2015, Lura Care has expanded from Spain into Italy and the UK, serving over 120,000 people across more than 1,000 care homes and day centres.
Their specialised teams use mobile, high-quality equipment to provide personalised care at patients’ residences, avoiding the need for travel and ensuring sensitivity to vulnerable individuals’ needs. Supported by advanced technology integrating diagnosis, treatment, and family communication, Lura Care improves access to essential health services for people with limited mobility.
High satisfaction ratings demonstrate the effectiveness of their model, which combines professional expertise, innovative operations, and strategic partnerships with major dental and optical providers. With plans to scale further in Europe, it aims to reach 2 million people within five years, making home healthcare a sustainable and inclusive solution to ageing and dependency challenges.
Title: “Vision Screening for Older People: Supporting Healthy Ageing”
Organisation: Active Ageing and Community Care, Malta
More information here: https://aacc.gov.mt/en/active-ageing-and-community-care/
This nurse-led, mobile vision screening programme brings essential eye health services directly to older adults living in 27 residential care homes and Active Ageing Centres across Malta. Supported remotely by a geriatrician specialised in ophthalmology (eye care), the service includes assessments of inner eye pressure and clarity of vision, using specialised equipment.
By delivering care onsite, the programme overcomes mobility and travel barriers for frail or dependent older adults, enabling early detection of treatable conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy. Since its inception, over 4,100 residents have been screened, with the service recently expanded to other Active Ageing Centres, reaching community-dwelling older persons and improving access to preventative eye care.
Positive feedback from residents, families, and staff highlights the programme’s impact on preserving vision, promoting autonomy, and enhancing quality of life. Funded by the government, this scalable and innovative model integrates digital tools for remote specialist review, reducing hospital visits and supporting continuity of care in familiar environments.
Title: “Once upon a Time there was Opera”
Organisation: Regional Government of Asturias - Department of Social Rights and Welfare, Spain
More information here: https://actualidad.asturias.es/-/el-principado-y-la-fundación-Ópera-de-oviedo-firman-un-convenio-para-fomentar-el-bienestar-de-las-personas-mayores-a-través-de-la-música
The “Once upon a time there was Opera” project brings high-quality opera and lyrical music into public senior centres and nursing homes across Asturias, Spain, through specifically designed training courses, using music as a therapeutic and social tool to enhance well-being among older adults, particularly those with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Sarcopenia, and others.
Delivered through weekly workshops led by professional singers, music therapists, and psychologists, it fosters memory stimulation, mood improvement, emotional expression, and social connection. Currently piloted in nine centres across seven cities, the initiative reaches hundreds of elderly residents, their families, and care staff.
Funded by the European Union’s Next Generation EU programme, the project is in its implementation and monitoring phase, with early feedback showing high satisfaction and positive effects on participants’ health and social engagement. The project aims to expand regionally and nationally, providing a replicable model of culturally enriched, person-centred care for older people.
Title: “Balçova Municipality Mature Youth Center”
Organisation: Olgun Genclik Center (Izmir Balcova Municipality)
More information here: https://www.balcova.bel.tr/
The Olgun Gençlik (Mature Youth) Centre in Izmir, Türkiye, supports residents aged 60 and above in maintaining physical, mental, and social well-being through a participatory and sustainable model. Operating since September 2023, it promotes active ageing with the motto “Life Doesn’t Retire at 60. All Together; Learning, Sharing, Thriving.”
The Centre offers a wide range of courses and activities, from physical exercise to cognitive training, designed to combat isolation, challenge stereotypes about ageing, and encourage lifelong learning. Over 400 citizens benefit from its programmes, delivered by a multidisciplinary team including gerontologists and physiotherapists.
The initiative has rapidly expanded from seven to 22 courses and from 50 to over 400 registered members. Evaluation through surveys, feedback, and social media shows high satisfaction, with continuous development to meet members’ needs and further enhance community engagement.
Title: “Casanova Building: Solidarity Housing with Bolzano Social Services”
Organisation: Bolzano Social Services, Italy
More information here: https://www.aziendasociale.bz.it/it/
This project offers an innovative housing model of 24 apartments tailored for older adults in Bolzano, Italy, combining independent living with mutual support in a community-focused environment.
The Solidarity Housing fosters autonomy, safety, and social inclusion by integrating smart home technology, barrier-free design, and on-demand support services within a shared living space. Aroudn30 elderly residents benefit from this model that actively promotes social interaction to combat isolation and strengthen neighbourhood ties.
Funded by the Bolzano Municipality and supported by a multidisciplinary team of social workers, educators, and psychologists, the project is currently in its implementation and monitoring phase. Feedback from residents via surveys shows high satisfaction, with ongoing efforts to improve housing support and local amenities.