Zamora launches IBERLONGEVA, the Iberian commitment to healthy longevity

IBERLONGEVA, a cross-border project between Spain and Portugal, is publicly presented in Zamora as a pioneering initiative that combines science, prevention, and community to transform the way we understand and accompany longevity. Driven by CENIE and the University of Salamanca, and funded by the European Union’s Interreg VI-A POCTEP Program, the project begins its public journey and first phase of participation in this city.

The city of Zamora has hosted the official launch of IBERLONGEVA, a project born from a shared conviction: longevity is not a problem to be endured, but an opportunity for growth that deserves to be understood and supported. This scientific, community, and institutional initiative represents a new model of applied research at the service of older people and society as a whole.

In the coming weeks, the registration process will open so that people over 60 in Zamora can voluntarily participate in this study. Each registered participant will receive a free, individualized evaluation of their health and well-being, with concrete recommendations and access to workshops focused on prevention and improving quality of life.

This November, the process will also open in Ourense, followed by Bragança, and starting in January 2026, simultaneous fieldwork will begin in all three territories.

A shared compass to anticipate, care, and prevent
 

IBERLONGEVA begins with a question: what would happen if we took seriously one of humanity’s greatest ambitions—the extension of life? Far from resignation, this project proposes to view the passage of time as a source of value, experience, and meaning.

Its essence is prevention—not as anticipation of the fear of aging, but as respect for the future and confidence that life can always be lived longer and better.

The initiative combines two fundamental modules: a social one, which analyzes bonds, support networks, and everyday living conditions; and a health one, which provides a snapshot of the physical, emotional, and functional state of participants. In later phases, more advanced clinical evaluations will be incorporated, such as strength, movement, nutrition, or lucidity, which will measure not only biomedical parameters but also ways of accompanying life with greater precision.

Zamora was chosen as the starting territory of the project not for what it lacks, but for what it has: a living culture, a strong community, and a way of life that deserves recognition. With this approach, the project turns the city into a reference point for innovation in longevity, setting the course for what may come.

An intelligent technological system with a community soul
 

IBERLONGEVA will include a representative sample of more than 1,000 people, capable of identifying patterns, early signals, and risk factors before symptoms of frailty become evident. Through advanced analysis of the collected data, and thanks to the work of the University of Vigo and the CTIC Foundation, an individualized monitoring system will be built with full legal and ethical guarantees, in line with the National Security Framework and European regulations.

All collected information will be integrated into the future Observatory for Active and Meaningful Longevity (OLAS), which will transform the study’s results into useful intelligence, with the aim of designing better public policies, anticipating dependency, and guiding social and health services toward prevention and personalized care.

An alliance between science, territory, and commitment
 

The project is led by the International Center on Aging (CENIE) and brings together a broad interdisciplinary scientific team: University of Salamanca, University of Vigo, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, CTIC Foundation, the Nursing Schools of Zamora and Ourense, the Higher School of Health of Bragança, along with researchers from UNED, Pompeu Fabra University, Complutense University of Madrid, and the University of Murcia.

According to Celia Fernández-Carro, Professor and researcher in the Department of Sociology III at UNED, “projects like IBERLONGEVA innovate by giving due relevance to the social factors and determinants of health and longevity, especially to the networks and social support of older people. The project’s results will provide an unprecedented boost to research carried out in this field in Spain and Portugal, with the intention that it transcends academia and truly impacts citizens’ well-being.”

For Juan Martín, director of CENIE, “IBERLONGEVA is a cooperation project between Spain and Portugal that unites science, technology, and civic commitment, aiming to offer something concrete, tangible, and valuable to prevent frailty: a complete health evaluation for people over 60. Factors such as mobility, rest, nutrition, emotional health, and social environment will be studied. All this knowledge will allow us to better understand how we age and anticipate risks before they turn into loss of autonomy.”

Looking ahead to 2026: knowledge that is acquired, cared for, and transformed
 

Fieldwork will run from January to April 2026, and the first results will be presented in the second half of the same year. IBERLONGEVA will not be just a one-off study, but a collective legacy that inspires other regions and countries. Because aging well is not only an individual aspiration, but a collective goal. And a society that cares for those who gave it life is a society that honors itself.

From Zamora, and with Ourense and Bragança also joining hands, begins a journey that unites science, commitment, and community.

Because the more of us there are, the stronger the message will be: in Zamora, the future is also being built.