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Avante exhibits European technology for improving quality of life
Publication date: 27th May, 2010
New technologies applied to welfare will be centre stage at the second Avante, which will be held from the 2nd to the 4th of June in Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via exhibition centre. In addition to the latest exhibits, the show will present the most innovative solutions which are being developed in Europe to cover the needs of a society that has more elderly and disabled persons. According to estimates Spain will be the European Union country with the highest ageing population in 2050.
With proposals from around a hundred companies, Avante, dedicated to personal autonomy and quality of life, will show professionals and the general public the latest products and services in specialist care, equipment for the home, urban accessibility and mobility, new technologies and bodies which promote equal opportunities for the most vulnerable groups.
This year, Avante’s R&D&I Area will house an exhibition of national and European prototypes and projects for technological solutions that benefit autonomy and healthy life of elderly and disabled persons. The exhibition will feature new telehealth and telesafety systems, such as biosensors to monitor vital signs, and even devices that, connected to a mobile, allow users to read barcodes on medication and receive the instructions.
Another main attraction is the Hogar Avante exhibition, which recreates a home adapted for needs of mobility, health, leisure and well-being of people with physical, sensorial and cognitive disability. It incorporates all kinds of products, from computers integrated into wheelchairs, environmental control devices, toys and adjustable furniture.
Around a thousand specialists from 20 countries
Avante is also an important forum for debate about the challenges of ageing, the latest market innovations and the new business opportunities for companies in the sector. In this sense, the show will host numerous side events with the participation of health professionals, experts in new technologies, companies, associations and public administration representatives. Around 1,000 delegates from over 20 countries are expected to attend.
The side events programme includes the first European Workshop “Taking innovation to the real needs of services for the elderly”, with the participation of representatives of the European Commission, and the 2nd Forum on Health, Technology and Quality of Life, which will tackle the implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in health care in order to improve safety, quality and sustainability, as well as to reduce public costs.
The programme will be completed by the sessions on welfare resources, conferences on the autonomy of intellectually disabled persons, meetings between Spanish and French companies and workshops on driving adapted cars, and using Braille and walking sticks.
Within the framework of Spain’s presidency of the EU, the show will also provide the setting for the General Assembly of the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Association, which manages programmes for the development of new technologies at the service of the elderly.
Avante has the collaboration of the ONCE Foundation, Vodafone, the Departament d’Acció Social i Ciutadania de la Generalitat and the Diputació de Barcelona. It also has the support of important international bodies and associations.
A market with a future
Avante responds to a market with growth expectations, attentive to the new needs of an every increasing “elderly” and “dependent” society. According to estimates from the National Statistics Institute (INE), in 2050, Spain will be the one of the world’s most aged countries and the most aged in the EU: 30% of the population will be over 65.
This situation is a consequence of the low birth rate and the increase in life expectancy. The average longevity of Spaniards is 84 for women and 78 for men, while the European average is79 for women and 71 for men.
According to the 2008 Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy and Dependency, in Spain there are over 3.8 million disabled (8.5% of the population), 67% of whom receive some type of aid or care, such as wheelchairs, walking sticks, hearing aids, etc., or personnel. In this case, carers are key factors: the majority are women aged between 45 and 64, who work eight or more hours a day.
Barcelona, 27th May 2010
Images available here
Montse García Duque
93 233 35 46
mgarciad@firabcn.es