A total of 14 workers of Suara Cooperativa in Terres de l'Ebre have been trained this year 2023 in how to apply immersive reality in therapeutic and socio-educational sessions for children, adolescents and young people.
These trainings are part of Suara Cooperativa's pioneering project to apply innovation and technology to the main current social challenges, especially in the health, welfare and care sector. In this context, thanks to funding from the Next Generation Fund of the European Union (EU), it has been possible to install an immersive reality room in the offices of Suara Cooperativa in Amposta, as well as to train the workers of different services managed by the organization in Terres de l'Ebre.
Immersive reality makes it possible to simulate real environments to live experiences through which people receive stimuli that can help them to maintain physical health, emotional well-being through mindfulness sessions, prevent cognitive degeneration, and can become a tool to help overcome migratory grief, explains Natàlia Alonso, head of immersive and virtual reality at Suara Cooperativa. In addition, immersive reality can be put at the service of more formal learning, such as the acquisition of vocabulary or the improvement of mental arithmetic.
Thus, this technology makes it possible to work on the emotional and psychological well-being of children, adolescents and young people; as well as to bring them cognitive stimuli that help them to acquire instrumental learning such as language or mathematics, improve concentration during the learning process or discover both the environment and the culture of the host society.
The immersive reality rooms of Suara Cooperativa, located in Barcelona and Terres de l'Ebre and with the plan to install two more soon in Girona and Barcelona, are equipped with Broomx technology while having the MK360 projector and a tablet, which includes software with various immersive content.
"All these experiences are common, but they can be used for different purposes such as socio-educational sessions and the person who runs the room is the one who chooses the environments they are interested in recreating according to the profile of the group," explains Natalia Alonso.
In total, the 14 workers who have been trained in Terres de l'Ebre belong to ten services managed by Suara Cooperativa, which accompany more than 700 people, who are the ones who will benefit from this technology from this year.
Improvement works at the CATE to ensure better energy efficiency
However, this is not the only action that has been carried out in 2023 thanks to funding from the European Union (EU) Next Generation Fund. Also, 34 photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof of the Terres de l'Ebre Reception Center (CATE), as well as four lithium batteries in order to improve its energy efficiency. With this, it has been upgraded to an A rating, which is the highest quality rating, instead of the C rating it had before.
With the installation of the photovoltaic panels, a substantial transformation has been achieved in the management and origin of the energy used, as the energy now comes from a renewable source such as sunlight, thus reducing dependence on other non-renewable energies. However, beyond the tangible benefits such as energy and associated cost savings, this project also helps to promote environmental awareness among the people living in the CATE and the surrounding area.
With this same objective, in 2023, the skylight that was located in the main dining room and was closed, thus not allowing ventilation of the space, was replaced. In addition, this was a source of heat and energy loss in both summer and winter. Therefore, a skylight with mechanized doors on the sides was installed, which is moved with a remote control, systematically optimizing the air flow. It therefore ensures adequate ventilation for the space while being more energy efficient. Finally, the cover is lightweight, allowing natural light to enter. Beyond improving energy efficiency, this skylight has also made the space a more pleasant place for CATE's children, teenagers and young adults.
On the other hand, several works have also been carried out in the garden and at the entrance of the building to make it accessible for people with reduced mobility and wheelchair users. Therefore, an alley with a lighting point has been created in the garden, and a continuous pavement based on a stamped concrete slab has been installed up to the entrance of the building. These works have made it possible to create a uniform terrain without unevenness, eliminating any architectural obstacles and facilitating access to the space for anyone.
Finally, trees and shrubs have been planted in the outdoor areas of the garden to create a therapeutic environment for children, adolescents and young people that encourages them to lead an active and healthy life.
Among the main challenges of these European funds are to promote the ecological and digital transformation of the member countries of the European Union. For this reason, in 2022 works were already carried out in the CATE facilities to improve their energy efficiency such as, for example, the installation of two hot water inter-accumulators, as well as different bars and curtains to favor an adequate temperature of the spaces. In addition, between June 2020 and March 2022, this center acquired new computers for the children, adolescents and young people who live there.
Looking ahead to 2024, this grant will also be used to expand the CATE facilities, which will have a new building adjacent to the current one. With this, this center will be able to increase the number of children in vulnerable situations.
