Caregiver Day 2025: A Call for Recognition and Support – Breaking News
For 15 years, Caregiver Day has been a pivotal event, offering a platform for caregivers and operators to discuss challenges, practices, and policies that support family caregivers in their crucial role of caring for loved ones. Organized by the elderly and not only SCS, with collaboration from the Association of Family Caregivers, Terre d’Argine Union, and the patronage of the Emilia Romagna Region and Ausl of Modena, this annual event is a beacon of reflection on a sector vital to Italy’s welfare system.
Recognition and Support for Caregivers: Towards a New Era
Over a decade has passed since the Emilia Romagna Region enacted the first law in Italy to recognize and enhance caregiver rights (LR 2/14). Since then, 12 other regions have followed suit, yet a national organic legislation remains elusive. The need for political awareness of caregivers’ roles, rights, and protections has never been more urgent.
The 2025 edition of Caregiver Day, held in May, emphasized the need for recognition and support for caregivers, their integration into territorial service networks, and the enhancement of their skills. This aligns with the European long-term care strategy, which focuses on person-centered services, support for informal caregivers, and integrated care actions.
Caregiver Skills: A Valuable Asset to Leverage
Over a million caregivers in Italy have abandoned their jobs due to care commitments, highlighting the need for policies that support their reintegration. The skills developed during caregiving—estimated at 50 billion hours of experience over a decade—are invaluable. These include welfare skills and relational-behavioral competencies that can drive social and economic development.
Recognizing and enhancing these skills is not just a social duty but an economic value that can strengthen the quality of the welfare system. Policies must focus on reintegration into the labor market, where caregivers can contribute their unique experiences and skills.
A Social Value Not to Be Dispersed
The insights from Caregiver Day 2025 underscore the social value of caregiving activities and the potential for policy makers to create concrete, impactful interventions. The need for a strategic response to new care needs, integrating the roles of caregivers and formal operators, and investing in home support services is evident.
As we move forward, the importance of a generative community welfare approach, supported by economic, professional, and technological resources, cannot be overstated. This is a call to action for a new welfare season, one that recognizes and leverages the invaluable contributions of caregivers.
