Society is facing a global ageing process resulting from a progressive increase in life expectancy and a reduction in birth rates; this is leading to an alteration of population pyramids, with important social and economic consequences. It is time to change attitudes towards ageing and promote a cultural change. In this way we can help people to live longer, more active and independent lives, and also contribute to making better use of the opportunities inherent in a new and rapidly ageing society.
In this sense, we would like to announce that we have good news, and that, although they say they have less capacity to be relevant - we don't know who said it... but it did a disservice to happiness -, for us they are like a guiding star; especially when we try to contribute to a change in the perception of older people, at a time when their fragility and vulnerability may obviate their protagonism in the society shaped by the demographic change that presides our time.
Ageing and longevity are the characteristics of a society that must face challenges and opportunities.
In order to seek positive responses, projects such as the International Centre on Ageing and the Programme for a Longevity Society have been born; both are expressed, digitally, through the CENIE platform (www.cenie.eu).
CENIE seeks positive responses to this phenomenon that is changing the world we live in. Its main mission is to promote excellence in research and innovation through leadership and knowledge generation. It also seeks to foster collaboration between business and academia with the intention of multiplying the benefits of public and private investment.
The CENIE website serves as a starting point and platform to give voice to the different activities and projects that have been and are being carried out within the structure of the Centre. We use the website not only to present important events such as Conversations in Salamanca, the Researchers' Meeting, the exhibition "A vivir que son 100 años", the Conference "Viver Bem, Envelhecer Melhor" or the Innovation Fair "Desafios para um Envelhecimento Ativo e Saudável", but also to give a voice to the researchers who participate in our multidisciplinary research programmes and innovative projects.
It also hosts blogs, collaborations in Tribuna Abierta and the photographic competition "age does not mean getting older, only growing older" which has been a reference of participation with more than 7,600 images submitted by photographers from 103 countries.
The website of the International Centre on Ageing surpassed 1,000,000 visits months ago. Now, in a new milestone, it has surpassed 500,000 unique users, being a website in constant growth, where interested people have spent more than 14,000 hours on its pages. Spain leads the ranking of the countries that visit us most, representing 26% of our traffic, followed by Brazil with 14.15% and Argentina with 11.04%.
Source: Google Analytics
Beyond the actions, activities and initiatives that have led to these figures, we would like to thank, once again, all of you who, with your daily interest, make this possible.
The International Centre on Ageing and the Programme for a Longevity Society projects are promoted by the Fundación General de la Universidad de Salamanca, Fundación General Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Direção-Geral da Saúde and Universidade do Algarve, within the framework of the INTERREG V-A Programme, Spain-Portugal, 2014-2020, (POCTEP), of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).