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Robbie Norval, a member of staff at The University of Stirling was a 2015 Social Enterprise runner-up for his pioneering proposition, Lingo Flamingo – a tailored language outreach enterprise to assist in postponing the effects of dementia and empower older adults. Providing fun, social and interactive classes which have very positive cognitive effects.
Founder Robbie had experienced first-hand the effects of the disease after a close family member was diagnosed, and after much research discovered that speaking multiple languages can delay the onset of dementia by up to five years.
Lingo Flamingo provides interactive language workshops that are tailored to help those with dementia and mental health issues. His team includes a linguist, orthopaedic surgeon and neurologist.
“Converge Challenge not only gave us the chance to see if our concept was plausible, it developed our skill base, allowing us to gain confidence in pitching and making a sustainable business plan. The advice and the funding from Converge has enabled us to lay some very solid foundations which we are currently using to build our Social Enterprise.”
Since Converge, Lingo Flamingo has received support from Firstport and Scottish EDGE, and were recognised as one of 50 “New Radicals” – radical-thinking organisations that are changing the UK for the better. They officially launched in December 2015, counting the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon among their 100 guests.
In 2017, Lingo Flamingo began working with Edinburgh University to measure the cognitive impact that their language lessons have on older adults. They were finalists in the ‘Pioneering Project’ category at the Scottish Charity Awards 2017 and secured a £5k prize at the Senscot Conference in December for a collaborative project with Weekly Wow Factor to fund accessible jam making projects in care homes.