As the International Longevity Summit approaches, José Cordeiro discusses the upcoming event – and the case for a new Spanish blue zone.
Spain has the longest life expectancy of any country in the European Union, and Madrid is the most longevous capital in the Union, according to Eurostat. Thus, during the coming International Longevity Day, October 1st, Madrid will become the longevity capital of Europe and will host its first International Longevity Summit: TransVision Madrid 2024.
In 2013, the International Longevity Alliance (ILA) began promoting the United Nations Day of Older People, first observed on October 1st 1991, as the International Longevity Day, a day is now celebrated by many longevity groups around the world. Spain will host a major international event to celebrate this date, as Madrid is the capital with the highest life expectancy in the Eurozone. In fact, Spain has also held the record for the oldest living person in the world, María Branyas Morera, who died at 117 years and 168 days in Olot, Girona, on August 17th – as confirmed by Guinness World Records.
This first International Longevity Summit, TransVision Madrid 2024, will be the largest meeting of longevity experts in the history of Spain, with nearly 500 participants expected in the majestic Grand Amphitheatre of the Illustrious Official College of Physicians of Madrid (ICOMEM) – the same location in which Nobel Laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal gave his keynote lectures. As the main organizer of the event, with the International Longevity Alliance (ILA), I consider this a unique opportunity to recognize and propose that Madrid be considered a Blue Zone – that is, a place where very long-lived people reside, and thus promote scientific advances in life extension.
Among the international experts confirmed are Aubrey de Grey, PhD (who has donated millions of dollars to research and created three foundations working on biological rejuvenation), Natalie Coles, MSc (who has analyzed the blood, saliva and urine of the world’s longest-lived people, including Maria Branyas Morera), Bryan Johnson (who is considered the most famous biohacker and the person with “the most biological measurements in the world”), and William Faloon (who cofounded Life Extension Foundation and has been promoting rejuvenation therapies for decades).
Among the Spanish experts are personalities such as María Blasco, PhD (Director of the National Cancer Research Centre, CNIO), Eduardo Díaz-Rubio, MD (President of the Royal National Academy of Medicine of Spain, RANM), Pedro Guillén, MD (founder of the CEMTRO Clinic), and Alejandro Ocampo, PhD (cofounder of Epiterna and former collaborator of Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte with his mice rejuvenation experiments using the Yamanaka factors), as well as other experts in longevity, from economists to politicians, such as Ramón Tamames, PhD (full academic of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences) and Ángel Niño Quesada, MSc (Councilor for Innovation in Madrid).
A large group of institutions, public and private, Spanish and international, large and small, new and old, are collaborating in this International Longevity Summit, starting with the International Longevity Alliance (ILA), the Illustrious Official College of Physicians of Madrid (ICOMEM) and the Royal National Academy of Medicine (RANM), together with organizations such as Olympia from the Quirónsalud Group, Cardia by Apolo, Life Length, Bluevert, Longenia Foundation for Life Extension, Bamberg Foundation, Zaballos Foundation for the Defense of Constitutional Rights, Futurist Alliance, MAD e-Health, Spanish Society of Anti-Aging and Longevity Medicine (SEMAL), HealthGevity Nation, Cenegenics and Madrid Innovation, as examples of important groups that support the proposal of Madrid as the first Blue Zone in Spain.
Thanks to our sponsors, the event is free and open, so do register quickly for this historic event!
Key points of the largest longevity meeting in the history of Spain, TransVision Madrid 2024: International Longevity Summit:
- Reading of the Madrid Declaration for Longevity: a document drafted by experts in support of life extension and Madrid as a Blue Zone.
- March for Longevity covering at the Community of Madrid (Puerta del Sol), the Congress of Deputies (Plaza de las Cortes) and Madrid City Hall (Cibeles Palace).
- Presentation of the official certificate to the oldest person in the world: Spanish María Branyas Morera with 117 years until her death, certified by Guinness World Records.
- Premiere of the documentary Longevity Hackers with 50 longevity experts, including interviews with María Blasco recorded at the CNIO and myself at ICOMEM.
About José Cordeiro
José is an engineer from MIT, fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science, board director of The Millennium Project, member of the International Longevity Alliance, organizer of the International Longevity Day in Madrid, Spanish candidate to the European Parliament, and coauthor of the international bestseller The Death of Death.
