Promoting Entrepreneurship, Health and Education during the mobile week

February 27, 2014

Mobile World Capital Barcelona presented the technological sector with the advances made by its Education, Health, and Entrepreneurship initiatives. The current edition of the Mobile World Congress has served as an international showcase of the city as the world capital of mobile technologies, holding the first-ever mobile entrepreneurship event and garnering community recognition for its projects.

At its first edition 4 Years From Now (4YFN), the Mobile World Capital Barcelona’s event centering on entrepreneurship, saw 2,300 participants, along with incubators and accelerators from 55 countries. 4YFN, which wrapped up its lineup of events today and whose participants are now turning their attention towards the Mobile World Congress, featured more than 50 talks, 60 hours of workshops, and brought together some 50 investors from around the world.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias met with the Mobile World Capital Barcelona management team and expressed his support for the Foundation’s goals and projects. After this visit, he attended 4 Years From Now, where he gave a speech on the value of the entrepreneurial spirit. The Prince of Asturias concluded his visit by joining the audience at a conversation between WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum and Fon founder Martin Varsavsky, who appeared on 4YFN’s main stage.

The Mobile World Congress has served as a platform to display the advances made by the capital’s different competence centers. In Education, the mSchools program, a pioneering initiative designed to promote the adoption of mobile technologies in the classroom, received special recognition at GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards, which honored mSchools’ commitment to enhancing students’ skills in the digital sphere, improving their academic performance, and reducing dropout rates. The Global Mobile Awards represent the most well-established and respected program of its kind in the mobile technology industry.

Mobile World Capital Barcelona presented several demonstrations of Health-related projects and applications, including a prototype of a vaccination record in app format, along with a personal medical file – two projects spearheaded and promoted by the Foundation, along with other agents in the healthcare field. On the last day of the Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Capital Barcelona organised seminary on mhealth featuring the participation of Orange healthcare, Institut Català de Salut (ICS), Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya (ASPCAT), ADA Foundation, Zero Mothers Die Project, IBM, the Center for Genomic Regulation, and Health Mavericks. In closing speeches GSMA’s Michael Strubin and the Mobile World Capital Barcelona mHealth competence centre’s Joan Cornet presented the Task Force for the putting into practice of mHealth. The group introduced is made up of experts from the technological and healthcare sectors, and works to set the parameters and standards necessary for the global implementation of mHealth applications.

Initiatives with a view to the public

During its mobile week Mobile World Capital Barcelona backed various initiatives designed to reach out to the public. One of the projects having the greatest impact was “Mobile Ready,” which aims to recognize and promote the city’s existing mobile assets, facilitate the creation of new mobile-related initiatives, and encourage the adoption of mobile solutions by sectors key to the city, such as Tourism, Commerce, and the Creative Industries.

Thanks to “Mobile Ready” visitors to Barcelona were able to enjoy a route along which they found the city’s leading tourist, cultural, and commercial sites at which to enjoy mobile technology experiences. Barcelona landmarks like the Casa Batlló and MACBA spaces employed mobile technologies to create new experiences for visitors, while the Passeig de Gràcia shopping corridor benefited from cooperation by various stores (Santa Eulalia, Montblanc, Loewe, Rabat, Furest, Geox and Desigual) offering a series of features demonstrating how mobile solutions are changing how customers can experience and purchase products.

Mobile Ready has made available to the public a website and an application through which to access this entire set of mobile assets and options. The tool will allow one to access information on the city’s mobile infrastructures, such as Wi-Fi hotspots, in addition to an agenda of mobile-related activities: lectures, events, notable exhibitions, etc. It also includes a selection of the best apps in Barcelona and the whole set of options featured on apps4bcn.

This week Mobile World Centre has offered an extensive series of activities, experiential exhibitions, and streamed screenings of exclusive Mobile World Congress content.