Cáritas Coimbra participated as a keynote speaker at the DSAI 2020 conference
Carina Dantas, from the Innovation Department of Cáritas Coimbra, was a keynote speaker at the DSAI 2020 online conference – the 9th International Conference on Software Development and Technologies for Enhancing Accessibility and Fighting Info-exclusion which took place from 2nd to 4th of December.
On the 4th of December, Carina Dantas presented “No excuses – keep investing in wellbeing and inclusion”. Based on her vast experience, the speaker presented the reasons why the citizens should always be involved in the development of digital solutions since its conception, so technologies meet the users’ real needs.
The Innovation Director also addressed the main challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the opportunities and consequences. According to Carina Dantas, “the post-pandemic crisis can be an opportunity to rethink the need to invest in prevention, as well as on the well-being and quality of life”.
Carina Dantas highlighted the way in which the digital services if correctly implemented, can respond to the challenges that the pandemic brought to the population: fight loneliness, the lack of family support, go around the closing of traditional services, the problem of hospitals’ capacity or the fear of going to the General Practitioner (GP).
Dantas also spoke about the big ethical challenge that will redefine the balance between digital tools and the human presence, reinforcing that “it will be needed a great sensitivity and a big social conscience to develop in the right direction and not lose the focus”, considering that “all the political, economic and social measures, should have the end goal of individuals’ well-being and promotion of the common good”.
These principles guide the Caritas Coimbra intervention in several projects, such as Pharaon, Net4Agefriendly, Valuecare, PlatformUptake, Diana, Dapas, Hands-on-SHAFE, Smartwork, EU_SHAFE and national projects such as ACTIVAS and CR55+.
