The Basque Government has approved the 2026 call for the companionship award for the elderly

The Minister of Welfare, Youth and Demographic Challenge of the Basque Government, Nerea Melgosa Vega, has approved the regulatory bases and the call for the 2026 “Age-Friendly Best Practice Award” through the Order of September 30. The Order was published in issue number 191 of the Official Gazette of the Basque Country on October 6, 2026, with official reference 2026/4129. The award has an economic endowment of 3,000 euros and is open to both public and private entities in the Basque Country.

The award is part of the New Age-Friendly Basque Country project, an initiative that promotes the participation of citizens and the public, private, and social sectors. This project originates from the Age-Friendly Cities movement launched by the World Health Organization in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro, and is based on the paradigm of active aging: optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security to improve the quality of life as people age.

The legal context has brought a significant change. Until now, the award was based on Decreto 145/2023, de 3 de octubre, but the entry into force of Ley 20/2023, de 21 de diciembre invalidated the previous framework, making adaptation to the new regulations mandatory. The call is included in the Plan Estratégico de Subvenciones del Departamento de Bienestar, Juventud y Reto Demográfico 2025-2028, updated by the Order of January 27, 2026, and is funded by the 2026 budgets approved by Ley 7/2025, de 23 de diciembre.

To whom it is addressed and what conditions the practices must meet

Public sector entities in the Basque Country specified in Article 4 of Ley 3/2022, de 12 de mayo, as well as private legal persons who carry out their main activity in the Basque Autonomous Community, may participate in the call. The latter must have had a headquarters, branch, or verifiable activity in the field of the reference topic in one of the last three events.

The submitted practices must meet the following conditions:

• Be initiatives, experiences, or interventions carried out throughout 2026, regardless of the start date.
• Achieve enabling living environments in one of the following areas: outdoor spaces and buildings, transport, housing, participation and social fabric, respect and inclusion, citizen participation and employment, communication and information, and social and health services.
• Meet one of the criteria established by UNESCO within the framework of the “Management of Social Transformation” program (2003): innovation, effectiveness, sustainability, or replicability.
• Align with the 2026 reference topic: “Fortalecimiento de lugares de encuentro en la comunidad”. Applications that do not align with this topic will be excluded from the call.

Content of the award and the 2026 topic

The award will be given to the practitioner who achieves the highest score, and it will consist of a sum of 3,000 euros. The award-winning practice, as well as the remaining candidates who achieve the minimum score, will be included in the Catalog of Best Practices of the Euskadi Lagunkoia Berria portal and will be published on the portal’s website. A practice that the jury considers deserving may receive an honorary mention, but this mention will not carry any economic amount.

Jury and evaluation criteria

The jury will be composed of the following people:

• President: Lide Amilibia Bergaretxe, Director of the High Commissioner’s Office for Social Services of the Basque Government. Substitute: Marian Olabarrieta Ibarrondo.
• Antonio Campos Illaramendi, representative of the Helduak Adi! association. Substitute: Lurdes Lope Gorrotxategi.
• Jose Luis Agirre Etxebarria, representative of the Secot association. Substitute: Jorge García Cámara.
• Kiko Martinez Guirao, representative of the Agijupens federation. Substitute: José Ramón Eguren.
• Luis Carlos Marías Calvo, representative of the Las Cuatro Torres association. Substitute: M.ª del Coro Calle Alonso.
• Celia Gómez Poveda, representative of the Lares Euskadi organization. Substitute: Aintzane Uriguen Arana.
• Erkuden Aldaz, representative of the INGEMA foundation. Substitute: Ainhoa Arrillaga.
• Iratxe Uriarte Eiguren, representative of the EGK – Consejo Vasco de la Juventud organization. Substitute: Aitor Calvo Gonzalez.
• Marije Goikoetxea, representative of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Deusto. Substitute: Brígida Argote Martinez de Lagrán.
• Secretary: Nerea Cambra Becerril. Substitute: Maria Olarizu Ruiz de Escudero.

Jury members work free of charge and must sign a declaration of conflict of interest. Decisions are made by a simple majority of votes, and in the event of a tie, the president holds the casting vote.

A maximum of 90 points can be awarded in the evaluation, and a minimum of 60 points must be obtained to be eligible for the award. The criteria are as follows: innovative nature (30 points), viability and technical quality of the project (25), general evaluation of the project (20), integration of the gender perspective (8), intersectional perspective (5), and the use and promotion of the Basque language (2).

Deadlines, submission, and resolution

The period for submitting applications is fifteen business days, starting from the day following the publication of the Order in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country. Processing will be exclusively electronic, through the electronic office of the Basque Government. The body managing the award is the Dirección de Promoción del Tercer Sector Social y la Acción Comunitaria, and the resolution will be issued by the Vice-Ministry for Social Welfare within a maximum period of six months. Once the period has elapsed, candidates may be considered rejected through negative silence.

The calls for awards originate from the 2026 budgets, and since Decree 145/2023, used in previous editions, has been repealed, this Order ensures continuity at least for this event. This allows municipalities and organizations that promote friendly environments for the elderly to maintain the call for awards without any regulatory uncertainty.

The impact is significant for local agents in the Basque Country: the awards highlight good practices, disseminate them through the New Friendly Basque Country portal, and promote the exchange of experiences between municipalities. Furthermore, the 2026 theme —strengthening community meeting points— directly links to policies against loneliness among the elderly and in favor of social participation; since the call rewards innovation, sustainability, and replicability, it offers a useful model for other municipalities.

Source: Official Gazette of the Basque Country, number 191, October 6, 2026, Other provisions, pp. 1-14 (official reference: 2026/4129).