A quarter of the world's population will have a mental health problem, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A reality that has turned the prevention, care and support of people with mental disorders into one of the main challenges of the 21st century. Initiatives such as WeMind, of which Suara Cooperativa is a member, have been born with this aim.
For this reason, the cooperative recently hosted the 2024 general assembly of this cluster, which is ten years old and also specializes in neuroscience and aging, at its premises in Glòries (Barcelona).
In detail, the appointment took stock of 2023, the year that Suara Cooperativa entered this cluster together with the Centre de Vida Independent (CVI), and presented the strategic challenges for this 2024, marked by the Catalan elections next May 12.
Looking ahead to 2024, among the challenges of WeMind, with 93 partner organizations, are to promote the growth of the sector through the promotion of innovative policies and projects, inter-cooperation between organizations and the transfer of innovation, as well as teaching; at the same time that it also seeks to offer an excellent and quality service through the improvement of services and the perception of it by the people served, to attract talent for the cluster team or to increase the service or team of the cluster
Subsequently, a co-working space was enabled, which served to exchange knowledge, experiences and forge alliances between the different member organizations to explore projects that can offer solutions to the main challenges that mental health entails.
Innovation tour of the Social Digital Lab facilities
In addition, the people attending the assembly were also able to enjoy a tour of social innovation, they were able to meet on site the Social Digital Lab (SDL), Suara Cooperativa's Living Lab to apply social and technological innovation to social challenges and health environments, as well as other innovative projects of the organization or the Independent Living Center (CVI).
This social innovation laboratory has been designed to respond to the different needs in a transversal way and by uniting citizens, companies, the startup world, public administration and the academic world. In this context, these are the different initiatives they visited:
- Assistive robotics: it is a project funded by the Next Generation Fund and in which Suara Cooperativa cooperates with different entities to develop enabling technologies in three areas: personalization, continuous dialogue, understanding and explainability with the aim that people can age in their own homes. Robots can improve the well-being of the people we care for, mitigate the problems of aging, maintain independence and will also serve for the monitoring and early diagnosis of possible physical and mental problems. Therefore, this initiative will be carried out with the technology of ROBIN and Suara Cooperativa is being developed by the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (IRI), CSIC-UPC, together with the Center for Technologies and Applications of Language and Speech ( TALP), UPC, Datision and Suara Cooperativa
- Social Robotics: funded by the Singulars program and carried out with the Group Saltó, it introduces the assistance and surveillance robot Temi into the field of care. This robot, which lives directly with the person, allows them to accompany the elderly, keeps them company and reminds them of their tasks, as well as answering various questions, such as for example what the weather is like or questions of general knowledge. In addition, it has a mapping function to be able to follow the person around their home or in the residential space and facilitates the work of family workers or caregivers.
- Makers community, pilot tests and Benestarum platform: in this third area of the tour, the importance of creativity, innovation and practical learning is highlighted. Maker culture encourages the creation and customization of products through the use of available technology and tools, so training becomes a key element in ensuring that people have the necessary skills to actively participate in this culture , which includes projects in 3D printing, programming and robotics. Suara Cooperativa is also on the lookout for technological innovations offered by local start-ups, therefore it has incorporated numerous pilot tests. One of the successful pilot tests is the "Deixa't Cuidar" space that forms part of the Benestarum project program, a virtual platform through which companies or organizations can look after emotional, psychological, nutritional, physical health and well-being and financial for working people, who can enjoy individual or group sessions with experts.
- Center de Vida Independent: the headquarters of the Suara Cooperativa hosts the Center de Vida Independent (CVI), a project in collaboration with the Associació per la Vida Independent, a non-profit third sector social organization and declared of public utility to offer a service dedicated both to the search for new technologies and technical assistance and to the assessment and support of people with functional diversity or diverse needs. At the CVI, comprehensive assessments of the individual needs of dependent people are carried out, while exploring the use of various technical solutions according to their needs and determining which would be the most appropriate to guarantee maximum well-being, comfort and autonomy of the person. One of the projects piloted by the CVI and Suara Cooperativa services is Seniordomo, a smart watch that offers advanced protection for the elderly. Much more than a help button, it detects risky situations such as inactivity, abnormal pulse or falls.
- Immersive Reality Projects: the Immersive technology room is a space equipped with the latest technologies in collaboration with the Catalan start-up Broomx. This aims to provide technological tools to improve the well-being and mental and physical health of people, whether from the cooperative or outside through projects carried out with various organizations in the social economy and health. Broomx technology has been developed to create immersive therapies that do not require the use of glasses and facilitates sharing the experience with others. Together with the collaboration of the Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, the REVIVE Project has been designed, an innovative program that aims to improve the mental health and emotional well-being of people in cognitive impairment processes through the use of immersive virtual reality (RVI), as well as other technologies.
