The MOAI LABS, a project developed
within the scope of CINTESIS, opened a call for companies or consortiums with at least one company that want to propose and develop innovative solutions or ideas to fight the loneliness and social isolation of the elderly.
Until March 7, applicants may submit proposals for only one of the two challenges or for both. These challenges aim to respond to the main expectations of older people, which were heard in co-creation sessions that previously took place in Portugal, Spain and France.
In our country, this initial “fieldwork” was done by the CINTESIS/University of Aveiro team, coordinated by Oscar Ribeiro, using the so-called “experts by experience” approach (older people with the need).
The first challenge (Connect) aims to help older people feel less lonely and less isolated by increasing “socially meaningful connections” provided by digital technologies, but also involving non-virtual (face-to-face) activities. The second challenge (Activate) is to achieve solutions capable of keeping older people physically and mentally healthy, even when alone or isolated.
The selected proposals will enter an acceleration and co-creation program, which will run from April to December 2022. Each selected proposal will win a 17 thousand euro voucher to use in external services of their choice to boost the commercialization of the solution and its market introduction. In case there is only one proposal in the two challenges, the voucher will be 34 thousand euros.
The MOAI LABS: Collective Intelligence and Social and Health Technology Labs to fight isolation and loneliness among the elderly is a project funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), 
in the framework of the Interreg Sudoe Program. The Portuguese team is composed of Oscar Ribeiro, Liliana Sousa and Sara Guerra, involving other Portuguese (INOV INESC Inovação), Spanish (Fundación INTRAS, Gerencia de Servicios Sociales de Castilla y León, FUNGE Formación y Empleo, LEITAT and Ticbiomed) and French partners (Institut des Métiers de la Longévité and Mutualité Française Limousine).