UOC supports Frena la curva's open call for innovative projects that tackle social challenges following the pandemic

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is one of the institutions backing the "Desafíos comunes" (Shared challenges) initiative being driven by Frena la curva, a citizen platform that is pooling efforts to combat the current coronavirus pandemic. The organization has launched a public call to encourage the development of collaborative projects that take a stance against the social challenges that await us in the near future.

The UOC's decision to join the initiative is in line with its commitment to following the United Nations' 2030 Agenda and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. It also fits nicely with the University's Open Knowledge Plan, which aims to open up university-generated knowledge to society at large. Furthermore, "Desafíos comunes" is a solid match for the UOC's entrepreneurship and innovation platform, Hubbik, as they are both focused on fostering a community of open, connected and collaborative innovation that works in unison to overcome society's pressing challenges.

Frena la curva claims that the progressive de-escalation of the social isolation measures in place to ward off the pandemic will spark ruthless social and economic changes in society. However, they also believe that we are now better equipped, with new distributed and collaborative digital resources available on both a local and global scale. This is thanks to social mobilization, accelerated innovation of processes in the public sector and collaboration with social organizations and companies from all sectors. Representatives from the platform pointed out that the coming months will be crucial for society, impelling us to do our best and stick together like never before in order to define what our society will look like at the end of this historic struggle.

The organization

Frena la curva, which means "Flatten the curve" in Spanish, is a citizen platform through which volunteers, entrepreneurs, activists, social organizations, makers, and public and open innovation labs have partnered up to organize and channel their social strength and civic resilience in order to stand up to the coronavirus pandemic. It is a way for individuals from civil society to help the government and the essential public services in this fight.