UNICEF Spain has a long history of helping disadvantaged children in the country and in Spanish-speaking countries all over the world.
In recent years, the United Nations agency has looked to the innovation economy to spur ideas that can be turned into larger projects that make a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of young people.
One such initiative is UNICEF Lab, a social impact project accelerator that aims to “innovative solutions to the challenges facing children, adolescents, and their families in Spain and around the world.”
The social acceleration program supports startups, public and private institutions, and individuals with social impact projects geared to help the aforementioned demographics.
Now in its seventh edition, UNICEF Lab last week held a pitch day on the campus of Madrid’s ISDI business school. ISDI’s business accelerator programme, IMPACT Accelerator, developed the social venture acceleration programme for UNICEF Spain.
The pitch day was part of the broader Futur&ia, a biennial meeting that connects UNICEF Spain with the Spanish innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Six projects focused on child mental health and well-being were presented at the event:
- Marta Gomá presented Bruc Salut, a project aimed at the emotional growth of families and professionals.
- Ignacio Canales presented Hello Miinta, which aims to generate conversations that emotionally support young people.
- Silvia Fron presented ASAPME, which is committed to gamification for the prevention and promotion of mental health in the child and adolescent population.
- Montserrat García presented a project from the Universidad de Alcalá that creates psychoeducational interventions aimed at the entire educational community.
- Ester Pérez presented Teamworkz, whose objective is the promotion, inclusion and support of neurodivergent people.
- Mónica Fidelis presented Som 360, a digital platform promoted by San Juan de Dios as a meeting point for mental health professionals, offering rigorous, straightforward information that empowers users.
“We are very proud of the work accomplished by the founders of the 7th edition of UNICEF Lab,” said Jesús Tapia, director of IMPACT Accelerator. “Their presentation at Futur&ia highlights how collaboration between the public, private, and non-profit sectors is transforming the lives of future generations.”
Futur&ia and the future of innovation for social good
The UNICEF Lab pitch day was part of a broader effort to bring together members from Spain’s business, startup and technology ecosystem with others from impact investing, and the so-called third sector of non-profits. All attended with the goal to “find innovative solutions that transform the lives of children and adolescents,” according to a statement shared with Novobrief.
Futur&ia, according to organizers, served to answer two key questions: “Why is innovation crucial to addressing children’s challenges?” and “How can impact investing make a difference in children’s lives?”
The meeting gathered influential speakers from the business and non-profit communities to debate the importance of placing children’s rights at the center of entrepreneurship and social investment, and discussed possible ways to make innovation a key tool in improving the lives of children.
Speakers included: Raúl Sánchez, Director of Impact Investments at COFIDES; Ana Laguna, co-founder of Zoundream; Arturo Benito, CEO of Impact Bridge; and Fernando Summers, Director of ProEduca. The session was moderated by Iria Mata, Educational Projects Specialist at the Cotec Foundation.
“Innovation is not an option; it is an urgent necessity. Without it, we will not be able to solve the persistent problems affecting children,” Luis López Catalán, Director of Innovation, Technology, and Data Integration at UNICEF Spain, said in a statement shared with Novobrief. “Investing in children is a responsibility we cannot shirk, because it is the foundation for building a more just, prosperous, and innovative society.”
Recognition of ISDI’s collaboration with UNICEF Spain for all these years
Having collaborated since 2014 on seven acceleration cohorts, UNICEF Spain’s Executive President Chema Vera took time at the end of the event to present an award to ISDI CEO Nacho de Pinedo.
Both the ISDI Foundation and ISDI’s IMPACT Accelerator were honored as key levers in the cooperation between the educational institution and UNICEF Spain to deliver a programme aimed at innovating for children.
At a time when global challenges are transforming the landscape of nonprofit organizations, the role of private corporations in driving social change has never been more crucial.
According to Nacho de Pinedo, “In a context of increasing complexity with policy changes toward global nonprofit organizations, collaborations like the one we have had with UNICEF Spain since 2014 highlight the power of private sector participation to sustain and promote essential humanitarian initiatives.”
