The global COVID-19 pandemic brought into focus the effects of a long-lasting care crisis in Europe and beyond. The COVID-19 crisis stretched our health and social protection systems to the limit, exacerbated already existing social inequalities and showed the structural weaknesses of our care models. Families, and paid care workers, had to cope with sudden difficulties, some of which were extremely complex to manage. Some citizens' movements reacted and raised their voices for a fairer and more sustainable care model. Institutions also reacted. The urgency of a change of model became evident. In 2022, the European Commission approved the European Care Strategy, which is already guiding different governments' programmes to change the care model. The Strategy states that this change is essential and must be accompanied by significant reforms and public investment. Accordingly, we are interested in contributions addressing: a) policy responses to the care crisis (or overlapping crises: financial, health, climate, etc.); b) the tensions –risks and potentials– that some of the suggested measures entail, such as deinstitutionalisation, person-centred care or the public-community care model; and c) the challenges involved in moving towards more comprehensive models of care, in terms of articulation between different agents of care, and in terms of policy articulation. All of this will be based on empirical research, which will enable the debate to be grounded and compared. This panel will contribute toward opening a critical debate on changes in public policies on care in the coming years from an anthropological perspective.

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