Easy Reading, making webpages accessible to people with cognitive disabilities

Publications Bank of innovations

Easy Reading, making webpages accessible to people with cognitive disabilities

Athena, Dart, FunkaNu, JKU, KI-I, PIKSL, Texthelp, TUD, W3C

Test of the Easy Reading software. Retrieved from the Easy Reading website

Software for Internet users with cognitive disabilities that offers a wide tool package to make it easy to read and understand any existing web page. It can be installed on the computer of those people who need it, and Easy Reading is responsible for adapting the content of web pages in the way most useful way for the user: making the structure simpler; changing the colours and design; explaining the content with symbols, videos or images; defining the words that the text includes; passing the text to a voice; etc. The software offers all these functions semi-automatically, as they require a certain interaction with the user.

To develop the project, “peer research” has been used to take into account the real needs of users, involving those who will use the end product, in this case people with cognitive disabilities. These are the main target group of Easy Reading, but not the only one, as it can also benefit old people with cognitive disabilities or other people with cognitive difficulties.

Easy Reading

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

InvisiCare, monitoring without sensors of the homes of the elderly

Publications Bank of innovations

InvisiCare, monitoring without sensors of the homes of the elderly

JDC-Eshel

Old woman accompanied by her granddaughter. Retrieved from InvisiCare’s website.

A proactive, preventive and community technology system to support older people and their families in a non-invasive, secure, autonomous and community-integrated way. Use the collected encrypted data to detect unexpected patterns or behaviours that require family, social or health intervention. And through artificial intelligence, it warns whoever is relevant. This will help to prevent situations that may pose a long-term problem. In addition to this preventative aspect, it also has a proactive one, since through an App and through a network of communities and accompaniment it provides active and permanent support to the elderly, from the family, the community and public social and health services.

The InvisiCare technology is not invasive as it does not use appliances, does not need contact with people, nor does it need any installation or house maintenance, so it does not face any kind of technological barrier by users. It works thanks to these pillars: the obtaining of data, which is securely and encrypted, by telecommunications and supply operators (TV, telephone, light, water, etc.); the detection of triggers, since it uses the data collected with algorithms to detect abnormal situations that require attention; the generation of notifications, by means of artificial intelligence that decides the type of notification to be sent; and at the same time advises on the type of accompanying and support that needs to be put in place and, if this is a prolonged action, the system will create a roadmap to carry out.

Invisicare

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

Be Girl, project against menstrual poverty, and the stigma and taboos it entails

Publications Bank of innovations

Be Girl, project against menstrual poverty, and the stigma and taboos it entails

Be Girl and Plan Internacional

Colombian girls with their Smart Cycle. Retrieved from the website of Be Girl.

Project to combat menstrual poverty, as well as the stigma and the taboos it entails. It consists of an offer of reusable and affordable menstrual products, training workshops and a pendant that helps to monitor the menstrual cycle itself.

Be Girl products consist of reusable menstrual products, such as panties or cloth pads, made of waterproof and absorbing materials that prevent loss and allow for affordable and safe menstruation, both for the environment and for users. They have a useful life of two years, avoiding waste from traditional pads and tampons, as well as being safer, hygienic and more economic in the long term. Its design is comfortable, beautiful, and efficient to respond to the needs of people who menstruate.

The project also offers menstrual cycle knowledge workshops, which include the use of Smart Cycle, a tool that allows one to know the menstrual cycle and its different parts (menstruation, ovulation, maximum fertility day, etc.). It is a pendant that helps track the menstrual cycle and better understand one’s body. These workshops are intended for both girls and boys, to show menstruation as a natural and free of stigmas. They are performed in schools and leisure sites, to make them safer and freer from menstrual taboos.

Be Girl products can also be purchased online, and with the benefits of the sales, the impulsive organizations fund the free distribution of products to girls with few resources.

Be Girl

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

3D Community, social housing built with 3D printers

Publications Bank of innovations

3D Community, social housing built with 3D printers

New Story, ICON, Échale

Two kids in front of one of the houses built in Mexico. Retrieved from New Story’s website.

3D-built housing, which enables high-quality housing parks to be generated and in a much faster and more affordable way than with traditional construction options.

The first housing park with this technology has been built in Tabasco, Mexico, and consists of 50 houses. The houses are made with the collaboration of ICON, a construction technology company. Thanks to its 3D Vulcan printer, which uses a cement mix called Lavacrete, it can build secure and durable constructions with very little time, as 3D printers can work uninterruptedly for 24 hours, until completion of construction. End touches, such as roofs or windows, are added in the traditional way, employing local builders.

Families living in these early Mexican dwellings previously participated in the process of designing their home, bringing their vision of their own needs and what they thought important to have at home. These families were selected through interviews and surveys in the area, to identify those with the greatest need. The houses have a social mortgage of about 400 pesos per month, a mortgage that does not return to New Story, the sponsoring organization, but rather to a Community fund from which families will be able to dispose in the future to invest in this community. In this way, it not only innovates in the way it is built, but also creates a community of owners that empowers the people who are part of it.

New Story

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

OKencasa, support for non-professional carers

Publications Bank of innovations

OKencasa, support for non-professional carers

OKencasa

Woman taking care of a dependent elderly man. Retrieved from OKencasa website.

Platform for the support aimed at non-professional carers caring a relative dependent at home. Through the Zaindoo app it offers permanent accompaniment from a care specialist, online training, tools for organizing care tasks, and discounts or advantages in services of physiotherapy, legal advice, home adaptation, etc. The aim is to improve the quality of life of the carers and to make their job easier, that is to say to look after the carers.

OKencasa periodically evaluates the physical, emotional and psychological well-being of the care-givers and, accordingly, offers them a personal plan of improvement and support that can be readjusted in time. The professionals in the service ensure that the caregiver is always accompanied and listened to with regard to the burden of their care tasks.

OKencasa also provides information to public social services so that they can provide better support for families and provide more efficient socio-sanitary care. The application is currently available in Euskera and Spanish.

OKencasa

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

DigiContact, remote and immediate social care service available 24h

Publications Bank of innovations

DigiContact, remote and immediate social care service available 24h

DigiContact

DigiContact worker attending a client. Retrieved from the DigiContact website

Remote and immediate 24h care service for people with long-term care needs: disabled people, elderly people with dependency, people with mental health problems or addictions, etc. The service allows extra respite and support to these people’s non-professional carers, avoiding their saturation, and also offers them support if needed. Users can enrol in the service either individually or through social entities. The service adapts to the needs of each user (for example, calling to remind him of a medication, wake him up in the morning, etc.) according to what is established at the time of contracting the service; and, depending on the needs of the person, DigiContact complements online care with presence visits.

DigiContact works through an app that is very easy to use: only by pressing a button it does the call (with image) to be able to receive remote support and attention. The camera is located in the middle of the screen, making it easier to have a sense of proximity and making it possible for professionals to read the verbal and nonverbal signals of the user.

Professionals working in DigiContact (psychologists, nurses, social workers…) have a specialized training to meet all kinds of needs users can have online.

The DigiContact service has proved especially useful during the lockdown times of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is currently a service only available in Dutch.

DigiContact

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

Kuvu, intergenerational rent to fight the loneliness and precariousness of elderly people and youngsters

Publications Bank of innovations

Kuvu, intergenerational rent to fight the loneliness and precariousness of elderly people and youngsters

Kuvu

Intergenerational cohabitation thanks to Kuvu

Platform that brings into contact people older than 55 who have a free room, with young people seeking rent at affordable prices. In this way, these elderly people earn an income and stop living alone; while young people who want to become independent and do not have the means to do so, or prefer to do so in a calm and familiar environment, can achieve it for an affordable price.

Unlike other European models, where accommodation is free for the young in exchange for care activities, the Kuvu model involves an economic transaction and places those involved in a relationship of equal conditions and responsibilities, since these are two self-employed people who simply seek company and share day-to-day. Kuvu seeks to generate cohabitation and accompanying relationships, as would two roommates. Both people may have an independent life, but share some moments of the day with the other person. There is no set number of hours for participants to spend together, because the relationship is hoped to occur naturally.

In order to ensure that coexistence will be viable, at the time of registering on the platform, a form must be filled with information about living habits, so that Kuvu can pair the people who are most compatible for living together. In addition, Kuvu makes a personal follow-up to the experiences it generates to try to make them as successful as possible.

Kuvu

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

Raaji, chatbot to inform and empower girls and women

Publications Bank of innovations

Raaji, chatbot to inform and empower girls and women

Aurat Raaj

Girls using the chat-bot Raaji. Retrieved from Aurat Raaj’s website.

Chat-bot that informs girls and women about gender issues and helps them empower and defend their rights. It uses a virtual character, Raaji, which is able to answer questions and have a conversation through artificial intelligence algorithms. It provides information on issues considered taboo which are of great importance to female empowerment, such as issues of reproductive health, security or economic autonomy. In addition, a team of professionals detects if there are cases that require professional intervention and are derived from them to the most appropriate services.

The Pakistani organization that has developed it, Aurat Raaj, also collaborates with schools and social organizations to make workshops and activities to empower women and girls, and to try to break some stigma surrounding topics such as menstrual hygiene. To further expand this task, they have created an animated series where the main character, Raaji, passes through different situations considered taboo but which are part of the day-to-day life of many girls. In this way, girls see themselves in a character that they identify with, who normalizes and overcomes these situations, encouraging them to take the initiative through activities such as training courses, personal defence, etc.

Chat-bot is a versatile tool available in English and Urdu, and has also been adapted to Covid-19 to provide reliable information about the disease for girls and boys, in an easy way. Raaji is a sample of how technology can help expand and take the work of social organisations further, creating a tool that is easy to access and which allows the easy and private reporting of issues of great importance and on which there are taboos or misinformation.

Aurat Raaj

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

Hero Arm, an affordable bionic arm made with 3D Printing

Publications Bank of innovations

Hero Arm, an affordable bionic arm made with 3D Printing

Open Bionics

Cameron Millar with his Hero Arm inspired in Star Wars. Retrieved from Open Bionics

The most functional and affordable prosthetic arm in the market today, as it is made with 3D printing. It is designed for both adults and children with amputations below the elbow. Hero Arm is a myoelectric prosthesis that uses the muscle cues of the rest of the arm to function and have the grip function.

One of its particularities is its uniqueness, as it is designed according to the exact measurements of the person carrying it, making it very easily adaptable to each person and that each prosthesis is unique. This is possible thanks to 3D technology, which allows first to make a scanner of the limb to obtain the exact measurements of the person, and then to use 3D printing to print the prosthetic. This reduces production costs, while at the same time increasing speed, and it becomes possible to make a prosthetic arm in just one day.

Hero Arm is a robust but lightweight prosthesis, as well as comfortable and breathable, making it easier to adapt and at the same time remove it for cleaning, charging, etc. It is designed to be as intuitive as possible for the person thanks to vibrations, lights, buttons and sensors. In addition to being the most affordable prosthetic of this type in the market, it also has a number of different covers to choose from. This way each person can choose the model that is closest to their style, from simple designs to bionic arms inspired by Iron Man, making this prosthesis an empowering and functional element, especially for children.

Open Bionics

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

Personal budgets, a new model that facilitates the autonomy and decision-making capacity of people with disabilities

Publications Bank of innovations

Personal budgets, a new model that facilitates the autonomy and decision-making capacity of people with disabilities

Flemish Agency for Persons with Disabilities (VAPH, Flemish acronym), Support-Girona Foundation

User creating his Personal Budget with the help of an adviser

A system targeted at disabled people who need long-term care and support, which enables the individual to decide which services he or she wants to receive and how he or she wants to receive them. This is thanks to a Personal Budget that is allocated to him and that the person himself can decide how to spend it.

First, the person, who needs to be over 17 years old, makes a personal budget request, making an application to indicate what activities he wants to do, what support he has currently, whether these are sufficient or not to meet his needs, what are his strengths and weaknesses, etc. Once the request is made, a multidisciplinary team issues a report in which they objectively assess the needs of the person and the Personal Budget that would fit him best.

Once the Personal Budget is granted to the person, they will be able to decide freely, firstly, whether to receive it in the form of coupons or bank transfer. Secondly, what type of services they want to invest in: direct home care, participation in therapies, obtaining an individual supervisor for one day trips, hiring a transport company to manage their mobility, etc.

In this way, the Flemish system of Personal Budgets allows for long-term care which provides greater autonomy for disabled people in deciding how to meet their own needs on the basis of the range of services available.

VAPH

Banc d’innovacions

AutisMIND

AutisMIND, an application to stimulate the social cognition of children with ASD

AutisMIND is a mobile application that enhances the ability to empathize with others in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Digital Streetwork

Digital Streetwork, social workers who assist young people through the Internet

Digital Streetwork is an initiative that moves street work with youth to the Internet
BRUS

BRUS, accompaniment to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction

BRUS is an accompaniment program to young people who live in families with situations of drug addiction
App Morada

App Morada, support against gender-based violence for women with disability

App Morada is an application that helps and guides women with disability and victims of gender-based violence
Nagaya Tower

Nagaya Tower, an intergenerational building to combat unwanted loneliness

Nagaya Tower is a building that connects people of different generations to combat the feeling of loneliness.
Imatges Posts Web 6 min 1

Barnahus, care service for child victims of sexual abuse

Barnahus is an integrated unit formed by a specialized multidisciplinary team, whose objective is to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.