With new technologies for people with disabilities, a trade show points to trends for the future of the segment that brings together more than 45 million Brazilians
São Paulo, September 5, 2022 – The 17th Reatech – International Fair of Technologies for Rehabilitation, Inclusion, and Accessibility, which ended this Sunday (4), attracted an audience of 46,795 thousand people. An edition celebrated by exhibitors and by Fiera Milano Brasil, the event's organizer. There were four days of many product launches presented by the 300 exhibiting brands and content offered by the Reatech Congress – Inclusion and Accessibility in the Labor Market, Pet Course – Animal-Assisted Therapy, Equine Therapy Workshop, Reamed – Congress of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tecfisio TO – Seminar on Advanced Technologies in Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, and Reashow – Exhibitor Seminars.
Reatech brought together employment agencies focused on people with disabilities and reduced mobility, financial institutions, wheelchair manufacturers, human resources departments, pharmaceutical industries, industries from the trained animal segments, adapted vehicles, special equipment, educational and hospital materials, personal hygiene, prosthetics and orthotics, alternative therapies, tourism, and leisure.
For Maurício Macedo, CEO of Fiera Milano Brasil, it is always an honor to organize the fair. “In this 17th edition of Reatech, we reaffirm Fiera Milano Brasil's purpose of promoting experiences through social and cultural activities and relevant content for all market segments that work on behalf of people with disabilities, making rehabilitation, inclusion, and accessibility processes part of the daily lives of everyone involved in this topic,” he states. “Reatech is the largest showcase for the development of this sector, which, according to data from the latest census conducted by the IBGE, has more than 45 million Brazilians who have difficulty seeing, hearing, getting around, or have some type of intellectual disability.”.
Luiz Oberdan, program coordinator for the Secretariat for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the State of São Paulo, highlighted the opportunity to present the programs carried out by the state agency at the fair. “I think the fair is really cool, it's not new to me, I've known it for many years. The turnout was great, there were a lot of people, many people visiting the booth. We presented various programs, events, and meetings. We offer several free courses for people with or without disabilities and we had many registrations. We promoted all the programs we have been doing. We already had this expectation.”.
For Eliane Miada, director and founder of ADD – Sports Association for Persons with Disabilities, this edition of the event was “incredible.” “Reatech is very important because it is an opportunity for people with disabilities and other organizations to learn about our work, so that they can get involved in activities. We have many students who came from other editions of the fair, so this is fantastic for us. We have set up the ADD Sports Arena for 21 years, and with every edition of Reatech we face a new challenge. Our proposal at the fair is to bring spaces that integrate Paralympic athletes and professional athletes with the general public, and this interaction is fundamental. If you count the business hours, from the opening time of the fair until the end, we held 32 hours of events.”.
Fábio Brunharo, coordinator of Laramara – Brazilian Association for Assistance to the Visually Impaired, also highlights the entity's long-standing participation in the fair. “Participating in Reatech is already part of Laramara's history. Our intention in this edition, besides exhibiting toys, machines, and pedagogical games, was to present the association. All the products were very well accepted by the public, especially the pedagogical toys, which are fundamental for counselors and teachers. The importance of being part of this event is enormous; here we can follow all the information about the evolution of products and care for people with disabilities in a single location, and for us this exchange is very rewarding, we will certainly return in future editions.”.
Ana Claudia Accorsi, a Corporate Relations Assistant at Doctors Without Borders, notes that their presence at Reatech enabled important donations for the project. “There were 342 rapid malaria diagnostic tests, 173 measles vaccines, and 219 peanut paste-based therapeutic food sachets to treat malnutrition donated during the fair. We estimate that this support can ensure malnutrition treatment for at least 3,285 people in one day. We truly managed to impact many lives together.”.
Senators Simone Tebet (MDB - MS) and Mara Gabrilli (PSDB - SP), candidates for the presidency and vice presidency of the Republic, also attended Reatech. During the visit, Tebet highlighted the importance of the fair and noted that the issue of inclusion is part of her government platform proposal.
Gabrilli recalled that Brazil is considered the third country in rehabilitation, but cannot meet all the demand, and argued that all federal government ministries should be involved with the causes of people with disabilities.
Reatech Congress
Between September 1 and 3, around 80 people attended the Reatech Congress on Inclusion and Accessibility in the Job Market at São Paulo Expo. Featuring at least four lectures or panel debates per day, the event fostered integration between professionals and organizations concerned with this highly relevant topic for people with disabilities.
“It was very timely to bring together professionals from companies that focus on inclusion, allowing them to learn and evolve. Knowledge is the only thing you do not lose when you give it away. So, it is very positive. It was a gathering of peers. The members who were here performed the same function in different places and shared their lessons with us, said Paulo Serra, director of innovation at Blue Ocean, the company responsible for the curation and organization of the conference.
Unprecedented technologies
Keeping with tradition, Reatech 2022 presented several technological innovations aimed at ensuring mobility, accessibility, and independence for people with disabilities. Among them was the world's first credit and debit card machine for the blind or visually impaired, presented by the National Organization of the Blind of Brazil – ONCB.
Another entirely Brazilian launch was the Stima, the first electric car developed especially for those who depend on a wheelchair to get around, which allows it to be driven by the wheelchair user themselves.
In the sports sector, visitors were able to see the first high-performance track and field wheelchair developed entirely in Brazil by Paralympic athlete Ariosvaldo Fernandes da Silva, better known as Parré, in partnership with Alphamix, a supplier of equipment for various parasports modalities. And on the last day, visitors were able to follow the 5th round of the Paulista Sitting Volleyball Championship, held on the court set up in the exhibition pavilion.
Animals in rehabilitation
As is already tradition, visitors to Reatech were able to learn a little about the work of animal-assisted therapy support. One of the best known is hippotherapy, a treatment in which horses are used in the patient's healing or improvement process.
Meanwhile, at the little farm, people had the opportunity to interact and play with animals, such as dogs, rabbits, a turtle, and even a pair of Madagascar cockroaches, and learn a bit more about the work done by the Integrated Therapeutic Approach Group – GATI in helping to reduce stress, improve socialization, and boost the self-esteem of people with disabilities.
ONCB Radio is live broadcasting
Since the first day of the event, the National Organization of the Blind of Brazil has provided live radio coverage with 15 blind and low-vision professionals, including journalists, broadcasters, advertising professionals, and audio and video technicians.www.oncb.org.br/radio). The team also held live streams with interviews and discussion panels on YouTube, which were broadcast on the ONCB channel and on social media (@oncbnarede).
Integration with public school students
Students from EMEF – Visconde de Cairú Municipal Elementary School, located in the Cidade Tiradentes neighborhood in the east zone of São Paulo, took 29 students from the first to the seventh grade for a visit to the 17th Reatech.
During the visit, the children had the opportunity to converse in sign language with deaf visitors and with some sign language teachers participating in the fair. They also learned about the animal training work for therapy animals, which are located at the Little Farm and the Equine Therapy space.
About Fiera Milano Brasil
Fiera Milano Brasil, the Brazilian subsidiary of Fiera Milano—one of the world's largest trade fair and congress organizers, which each year attracts approximately 30,000 exhibitors and over five million visitors—became the majority shareholder of Cipa do Brasil in 2011, giving rise to Cipa Fiera Milano, and as of 2022, to Fiera Milano Brasil. In Brazil, nine trade fairs are held representing the most diverse segments of the economy, such as security, clean and renewable energy, pipes and fittings, cables, occupational health, surface treatments, window frames, rehabilitation technologies, inclusion and accessibility, among others. Among the main brands in the portfolio are Exposec, Fisp, Fire Show, Fesqua, Ecoenergy, Reatech, and Ebrats.
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