Caring from the local level

Community-Based Care: The Experience of COCEDER and the Grío Cultural Association at the European Social Services Conference

Community-based care is a way of understanding life in society and organizing social work. Support, care, and protection for individuals are built within their environment, together with the community around them.

COCEDER is participating alongside the Grío Cultural Association in the European Social Services Conference (ESSC 2026). This is Europe’s leading forum on social welfare policies and practices, organized by the European Social Network. It will be held in Valletta, Malta, from May 17 to 20.

Every year, the event brings together professionals, public officials, and social organizations from across Europe to discuss the future of social services. Attending the event brings the rural experience to the forefront of the European debate and demonstrates that these regions also generate practical knowledge.

The Territory as a Space of Care

The approach taken by COCEDER and the Grío Cultural Association is based on a single idea: the local area acts as an active agent in the care process. In rural areas, the community and the natural environment become an integral part of the support provided.

Local networks support people, particularly children and young people in vulnerable situations. Care is built through everyday life, community living, neighborhood participation, and the bonds that are formed day by day.

Social services become more accessible and effective when they are integrated into community life.

An experience shared across Europe

At ESSC 2026, both organizations will present their work in two venues:

May 19: Best Practices in Action Fair (Grío Cultural Association)

• Presentation of the project “My Town, My Second Family: A Caring Rural Community,” carried out in Codos (Zaragoza). The community and the natural environment are integral to the social, educational, and therapeutic support provided to children in foster care.

May 20: Panel discussion: “Community Care in Action: Innovative Approaches from Across Europe” (COCEDER)

• COCEDER is participating in an international panel alongside representatives from Scotland, England, and Austria, where community care models will be discussed. There, it will present Biocuidados, an intervention model developed in 18 rural areas of Spain. The model focuses on preventing institutionalization through personalized support, community integration, and social cohesion.

Caring from the local level, transforming from the community

Rural areas are developing concrete solutions to complex social challenges such as loneliness, vulnerability, and the need for care.

Community-based care means recognizing that the community is part of the solution. People are no longer just recipients of services; they become active participants in a network that supports and cares for others.