Canet d'En Berenguer opens its 2026-2027 programme for older residents
Just minutes from Sagunto, in Canet d'En Berenguer, the council has opened sign-ups for its 2026-2027 programme for older residents — memory, technology and art-therapy sessions — registration from 21 to 25 September.
Just a few minutes from Sagunto, in Canet d'En Berenguer, the council has just opened registration for its workshops for older residents for the 2026-2027 course, aimed at retirees in this neighbouring town within the Camp de Morvedre district. The stated goal combines three strands: healthy ageing, keeping cognitive skills active, and strengthening social ties among older people.
Sign-ups can be completed between 21 and 25 September, a five-day window in which residents must choose an activity based on their preferences and availability. The workshops will run throughout the year at various council-run buildings, including the Sanchis Guarner centre and the Casa dels Llano.
The programme's three goals are not just an administrative slogan. Combining regular physical exercise, cognitive training and social participation is precisely the formula public-health guidance recommends for slowing the loss of independence and reducing the risk of isolation in old age. In a small town like Canet, where much of social life happens in shared spaces like the Sanchis Guarner centre itself, offering accessible workshops close to home means those habits also reach people who would otherwise have to travel to Sagunto or larger towns to find a similar offer.
Among the new offerings is En Moviment ("On the move"), cognitive gymnastics sessions focused on exercising memory, attention and concentration through interactive activities. Mayores con tecnologías ("Seniors with technology") also continues, designed as a follow-up for those who have already completed the introductory digital course and want to build confidence with everyday devices and apps.
The programme also includes an art-therapy workshop — a space to channel creativity as a path to wellbeing — plus various health sessions focused on physical and emotional care. On top of that comes RESPIR, a complementary programme whose details are managed directly by the council's Social Services department. Handling it separately is no minor detail: this kind of support, usually known as respite care ("respiro familiar"), is aimed at people caring for dependent relatives, giving them scheduled breaks while the older person receives professional care. This is a group that in districts like Camp de Morvedre often does not live in the same town as the person they care for, so having the information centralised through Social Services makes it easier for any local family to know where to turn, even though the council has not published further details about the programme.
The councillor leading the initiative has defended it, stressing that older people uphold much of Canet's identity and tradition, and calling for the council to keep expanding options for this group to enjoy their free time. According to the councillor, retirees in the town respond enthusiastically whenever a new activity launches, which explains why the workshop catalogue keeps growing year after year.
Although strictly a Canet council programme, the initiative also matters beyond the town itself: it is not unusual for residents of Sagunto and other Camp de Morvedre towns to have older relatives registered there, so knowing the offer and the deadlines is practical for anyone who moves between the two towns. Programmes of this kind, focused on keeping the physical, social and cognitive activity of people over 65, have become a routine part of social policy across the district, alongside this age group's growing share of the population.
The spread of workshop catalogues for older residents across different Camp de Morvedre councils is no coincidence — it reflects a shared trend across the district: from the largest town, Sagunto, to smaller municipalities like Canet, social welfare departments have been expanding this kind of programming alongside the ageing population. For families who split their lives between two or three towns in the area — common among people who work in Sagunto but have older relatives registered in neighbouring towns — that growing range of options also means keeping track of different registration deadlines depending on the municipality, something worth bearing in mind before places run out.
With the 2026-2027 course ahead, Canet d'En Berenguer's council hopes the programme will strengthen the independence, wellbeing and social life of its older residents. Places will be filled strictly in order of registration, so the council is asking people not to leave the paperwork until the last day. According to El Periódico de Aquí — Sagunto / Camp de Morvedre.
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