> "Our population pyramid has been inverted and we need new policies: in San Bartolomé we do not understand old age as a burden, but as an essential asset. Our elders have built this municipality and continue to contribute to its development."
Growing old well is one of the great achievements of our society. Today, Spain is one of the countries with the highest life expectancy in the world, with an average lifespan of over 83 years. This has meant that almost one in five people (20.4%) is now over 65 years old, and that, according to the forecasts of the National Statistics Institute, by 2050 this group could represent more than a third of the population.
The trend is similar in Europe: in 2020, 19.2% of Europeans were 65 or older. The consequence is clear: we will have more and more older people and, therefore, more collective responsibility to ensure that this stage of life is lived with health, dignity, and participation.
In San Bartolomé, we do not see old age as a burden, but as an essential asset. Our older neighbors have built this municipality and continue to contribute to its development: they support families, transmit values, and participate in cultural and social life. Our duty as an administration is to offer them spaces and programs so that they continue to be protagonists. With that conviction, we have designed the Active Aging Plan 2025, which this year offers more than 550 places in San Bartolomé and Playa Honda. It includes physical exercise, theater, computer science, cognitive stimulation activities and, as a novelty, two workshops that reinforce creativity and the mind: Challenge your mind and Crafts.
This plan is not starting from scratch. It adds to a trajectory that includes programs such as Seniors on the Move, cultural trips, digital training, and healthy habit workshops. Actions that have shown that active participation delays dependency, improves emotional well-being, and combats unwanted loneliness.
The data is clear: in Spain, there are already 142 people over the age of 64 for every 100 under the age of 16. This means that our population pyramid has been inverted and that we need new policies. But far from seeing it as a threat, in San Bartolomé we embrace it as an opportunity to strengthen social cohesion. Because aging is not retiring from life. Aging in San Bartolomé means continuing to learn, share, and contribute. Our commitment is firm: to guarantee that each added year is a year lived with fulfillment, pride, and participation.
In short, the true wealth of a society is not measured by its GDP or its macroeconomic figures, but by the way it treats its elders.
And in San Bartolomé we are clear: our elders are not the past; they are the present and the future.
