Navarra Innovation Week reaches its midpoint with a focus on social innovation

The third day of Navarra Innovation Week, marking the midpoint of a week of events running until Friday, focused this afternoon on social innovation—an area that seeks solutions to improve the lives of people and communities through technology.

In this regard, the Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Juan Luis García, emphasized in his opening remarks that “advances, beyond scientific knowledge, offer concrete hope to many people who strive to improve.” He added, “We want to take part in this entire process with vision, commitment and responsibility, placing society at the center of our innovation policies.”

Minister García also noted that “Navarra has a dynamic third sector, which contributes knowledge, sensitivity and experience in responding to social challenges,” alongside an innovation ecosystem with a strong social focus. “We are working to ensure that our SINAI system directs its research and development toward making life easier for people who require additional support, and to enable the social sector to fully leverage the potential of all the scientific and technological knowledge present in Navarra,” he stressed.

The session, held at Geltoki (the former Pamplona bus station), continued with a dialogue on opportunities for innovating in the social sphere, during which the Government of Navarra’s Director General of Social Economy and Employment, Iñaki Mendioroz, and the coordinator of the public social innovation center VidAAs, Idoia Urmeneta, outlined the innovation opportunities in this field, such as new products or services aimed at enhancing people’s autonomy and quality of life.

“The best examples of social innovation are those that offer effective, sustainable and scalable solutions for structural, positive and real impact on society, combining technology and people,” emphasized Idoia Urmeneta. VidAAs is the new Vanguard and Innovation Center for Active, Autonomous and Healthy Development in the Comunidad Foral—a social innovation laboratory for promoting entrepreneurship, technology and research; prevention and experimentation; and knowledge and specialization. It is attached to the Department of Presidency and Equality and driven by the public company NASERTIC.

Later, organizations and companies such as ANEL, Josenea, NAITEC, Fundación Caja Navarra and the NAIR Center presented practical cases of collaboration between technological and social innovation, such as Frágil IA, a platform developed by the NAIR Center in collaboration with other stakeholders, including the Public University of Navarra, Adacen and several hospitals from other regions.

Tomorrow: SciencEkaitza

Navarra Innovation Week continues tomorrow, Wednesday, with the fifth edition of SciencEkaitza at Baluarte, organized by ADItech, coordinator of the Navarra R&D&I System (SINAI). At 18:00, the exhibition “El futuro que nos espera, que no espera” (“The Future That Awaits Us, That Does Not Wait”) will open. The exhibition will remain open to the general public for the rest of the week before traveling to different towns across Navarra.

At 18:30, the awards ceremony will be held, with 16 R&D projects developed by SINAI stakeholders and Navarrese companies nominated. The ceremony will feature outreach talks by mathematician Marta Macho, economist Xavier Marcet and physicist and meteorologist Arnaitz Fernández. Attendance is free, with prior registration required via this link, until full capacity is reached.

Source: navarra.es