BIZAN Launches Big Summer Course Program

Vitoria-Gasteiz just rolled out a big summer schedule for BIZAN — the city’s network of centers focused mainly on older adults. The point is simple: keep people active, connected, and learning through the summer instead of letting services thin out when the weather changes. This year’s package is large even by BIZAN standards — 104 courses and workshops, 1,450 places, and 30 brand-new activities. The city presented it on May 6, and registration opens May 18. (blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org) ### What is BIZAN, exactly? BIZAN is Vitoria-Gasteiz’s municipal network for active aging and community participation. A lot of the programming is built for people 60 and older, but not all of it is closed off — some activities are open more broadly, depending on the workshop. So this is not just a “senior classes” bulletin. It’s also part social infrastructure, part public-health tool, part lifelong-learning system. (blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org) ### What did the city announce? The summer 2026 program has 104 courses and workshops and 1,450 total spots. Of those 104 activities, 30 are new. The city broke the offer into three buckets: 88 workshops for people aged 60 and up, 8 “generative” workshops taught by older adults themselves, and 8 workshops open to younger participants too, with age thresholds that vary by course. (blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org) ### What are the new workshops about? The new material tells you a lot about what the city thinks people need right now. There’s a strong focus on memory and cognitive stimulation, digital skills, emotional wellbeing, physical health, creativity, and misinfor(blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org)ytelling for emotional management, iris folding crafts, and even a workshop on spotting hoaxes. Basically, BIZAN is mixing classic community-center programming with modern “don’t get left behind” skills. (blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org) ### Why does digital inclusion show up so strongly? Because the practical gap is obvious. For a lot of older residents, daily life now runs through a phone — appointments, forms, messages, payments, transport, alerts. If you can’t use the device confidently, (blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org)erate in the city. That framing is built right into the program’s emphasis on digital inclusion. (blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org) ### How do sign-ups work? Registration runs from May 18, 2026, starting at 8:30 a.m., through June 3. People can sign up online, at BIZAN centers, at citizen-service offices, at information desks in civic centers and sports facilities, or by phone through 010 or 945 16 11 00 from outside Vitoria-Gasteiz. Places are filled in order of registration, not by lottery, and any unfilled spots reopen on June 10. (vitoria-gasteiz.org) ### Do you need a BIZAN card? Usually, yes. The municipal page says a BIZAN card is required for enrollment, except for the workshops specifically opened to the wider public. That split matters because it keeps the core mission focused on older users while still leaving some doors open for intergenerational or broader community participation. (vitoria-gasteiz.org) ### Is this just a summer-only push? No — and that is the bigger point. The summer courses sit on top of year-round activity that keeps running outside August, including 18 health parks around the city and the “Activa tu barrio” program, both with free access and no registration. The city also keeps m(vitoria-gasteiz.org)ummer launch is really an expansion of an existing system, not a one-off seasonal event. (blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org) ### Bottom line This is what municipal aging policy looks like when it gets practical. Not just care — but memory, movement, digital confidence, emotional health, and places to meet people. Vitoria-Gasteiz is using BIZAN to make summer feel less like a service gap and more like another learning season. (blogs.vitoria-gasteiz.org)