Doris Maurer, MA, MA, MSc, is a regional development expert, project manager and executive director of the NachbarschaftsKultur Association in the Waldviertel region. Her work focuses on preventing and reducing loneliness, particularly among older persons. To this end, she develops and implements innovative approaches that combine social participation, health promotion, neighborhood assistance and voluntary engagement.

A key principle of her work is creating beneficial effects in multiple areas at once: measures to combat loneliness should not operate in isolation but should simultaneously empower people, facilitate mobility, relieve the burden on family caregivers, strengthen community ties and make better use of existing resources in local communities. Older persons are viewed not merely as recipients of support but deliberately as an active resource and co-creators of the community.

Through projects such as NachbarschaftsKultur, DAVNE and Community Nursing, Doris Maurer develops cross-community structures in which professional practice, municipal responsibility, and voluntary engagement are intertwined. Her goal is to sustainably embed loneliness prevention within regional structures, thereby contributing to a better quality of life, social cohesion and relief for the health and long-term care systems.