The final chapter of the PROCAREFUL project was written across two complementary moments: the webinar on 4 February and the concluding conference held on 13 February in Treviso (Italy). These gatherings formally marked the end of the project, creating a shared space where partners, stakeholders, and policy actors could reflect on results and lessons learned, maximising synergies with related initiatives working on innovation in social and health systems and on prevention in rural areas. Throughout both events, one central message clearly emerged: the future of sustainability of social and health systems depends also on the capacity to invest in prevention. Yet prevention brings with it a persistent challenge: making the invisible visible. Acting early can significantly reduce long-term health risks and the burden on care systems. However, the benefits of preventive interventions are typically delayed, making them harder to capture through traditional evaluation frameworks. Building on this challenge, both events also highlighted that innovation in prevention is not only technological but a deeply social and cultural issue. PROCAREFUL demonstrated how digital tools can support preventive services and help people adopt healthier lifestyles. However, digital solutions are not enough: meaningful engagement, rooted in trust, dialogue and supportive relationships, is essential for motivating people and sustain behavioural change over time. For this reason, successful innovation requires organisations to be ready to integrate new ways of working and communicating, so that individuals feel informed, empowered, and responsible actors in their own health journey. These two meetings were further enriched by the participation of representatives from the WHO Regional Office for Europe, who brought an international perspective on ongoing strategic developments. In particular, discussions connected PROCAREFUL’s results with the upcoming WHO Europe strategy Ageing is Living: Promoting a Lifetime of Health and Well-being (2026–2030), which emphasizes prevention across the life course to enable people to live healthier and longer lives. They also presented the State of Long-term Care Toolkit, a WHO Europe initiative designed to support countries in transforming long-term care systems through person-centred approaches, highlighting the importance of integrated services and collaborative work among key stakeholders. We warmly thank all project partners for their continuous collaboration and dedication to the project. We also extend our gratitude to the external speakers who joined our events and enriched the discussion with valuable perspectives and experiences from similar initiatives.
