Carina Dantas, Chair of NET4Age-Friendly, 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 experience, the speaker presented the reasons why citizens should always be involved in the development of digital solutions since its conception, so that technologies meet the users’ real needs.
She 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 wellbeing and quality of life”. To this aim, NET4Age-Friendly will be an essential Action, with an enormous potential.
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 medical appointments.
She 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”.