Calldetenes Municipal Council launches a social project with UVic based on the circular economy and industry 4.0 to train young people at risk of exclusion

Calldetenes Municipal Council and UVic have launched E-Green Social Design Calldetenes, which will train young people with special educational needs who are at risk of social exclusion. This social inclusion project is based in an industrial building owned by the council. It is designed for young people aged between 16 and 20 years old, who will receive training in industrial 3D printing and entrepreneurship, and support during their transition to the labour market. The project is being organised by Barcelona Provincial Council, the "la Caixa" Foundation and the Government of Catalonia, and has received the scientific endorsement of the ISAMBES research group and the Mental Health Chair at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) and support from Osona Regional Council.

The young people, who are from Calldetenes and other nearby towns, will undergo six months of training and three months of internships in companies, and will receive support throughout the process from two occupational therapists from UVic. After they have completed their training, the aim is for two of the users to remain with the project as monitors of future users, while the others will receive support in their transition towards the labour market.

The opening ceremony was attended by the mayor of Calldetenes, Miquel Riera; the Vice-Rector for Teaching Staff at UVic-UCC, Albert Juncà; the representative of Barcelona Provincial Council, Marc Verdaguer; the regional director of the "la Caixa" Foundation in Catalonia, Patricia Alocén, the dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Welfare, Míriam Torres, and the researcher in the ISAMBES group and deputy director of the Mental Health Chair at UVic-UCC, Salvador Simó.

More than a social project

Apart from being a social project, the initiative aims to fight against climate change. For this reason, it will focus on recycling waste materials in order to turn them into interior design objects, urban furniture and items for landscaping, which will be sold to public institutions and businesses. To achieve this, the project has four standard 3D printers and one industrial printer, and is about to acquire a ceramic 3D printer. This initiative has been possible thanks to contributions of 30,000 Euros from the "la Caixa" Foundation and 60,000 Euros from Barcelona Provincial Council.

During the inauguration ceremony, the mayor of Calldetenes, Miquel Riera, emphasised that "E-Green Social Design represents new economic, employment, integration and knowledge opportunities for our young people, to which the Municipal Council has made a clear and firm commitment." The UVic-UCC researcher and professor Salvador Simó highlighted the fact that "in the context of climate change, a social entrepreneurship project is emerging that promotes the green economy, based on recycling plastics and also seeks to provide job opportunities for young people, focusing on their emotional well-being."

The representative of Barcelona Provincial Council, Marc Verdaguer, described the project as "a broad-based benchmark which helps to improve many aspects of our society, through innovation, self-employment, the circular economy, sustainability and social cohesion." On behalf of the "la Caixa" Foundation, Patricia Alocén emphasised that the project "meets a social need, promotes quality training for the benefit of the region, and is the result of the partnerships between many institutions as well as others which will certainly join in the future." On behalf of the Government of Catalonia, Xavier Gironès described the initiative as "special because of its vision and attitude, which shows how challenges can be turned into great opportunities."

Meanwhile, the dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Welfare stressed that the project was created based on a research and knowledge transfer initiative, "which clearly shows our commitment to having a social impact outside classrooms and laboratories."  He also mentioned the role of occupational therapy "as a driving force in the transformation towards a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive society."

Finally, the Vice-Rector for Teaching Staff at UVic-UCC, Albert Juncà, said that this project is consistent with the University's mission and vision, "because it helps to transfer knowledge to the society around it, and takes the sustainable development goals into account in particular."

The student Sergi Munmany talked about his experience as a participant in the project, and the event concluded with a guided tour given by the young people.