Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Campus of International Excellence Southern Catalonia
Department of Anthropology, Philosophy and Social Work

Outreach activities 2025

The MyRobot project, led by Blanca Deusdad and Fernando Vidal, will study the impact of companion robots on people with dementia. To this end, it will make the seal robot known as Nuka, which was presented to the university community on 8 January at the Catalunya campus, available to elderly people with dementia.

On 20 and 21 January 2025 we had the visit of Dr. Leandro de Lajonquière, Professor at the universities of Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis (France) and São Paulo (Brazil), who conducted this two-days' workshop. The activity was organised by MARC, DAFITS, DAC and MASGLOBAL.

On 31 January 2025, during the traditional DAFiTS coffee break, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with Carolina Kobelinsky. This anthropologist and CNRS researcher, who has devoted herself in recent years to investigate on the disappearance of migrants at the southern borders of Europe, was invited by our colleague Jordi Moreras.

On Wednesday 5 February, at the Arxiu d'Etnografia de Catalunya (Room 521), Dr Joan Prat Carós presented the book 'Salam Barcelona. Medio siglo de presencia musulmana', by Jordi Moreras.

On 14 February 2025 at the Francesca Bonnemaison Library in Barcelona, several MARC - DAFiTS members organized and participated at this workshop. Among them: Elisa Alegre, Sandra Caponi, Martín Correa-Urquiza, Sam Fernández and Ángel Martínez.

On Thursday 6/03/2025, from 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (Virtual), and organized by the Social Vocalia of the SCGiG, this webinar took place, led by Professor Mabel Gracia Arnaiz. Based on a socio-anthropological analysis of the eating practices of a group of elderly people in Spain, this presentation examines the ways of resolving meals taking into account, on the one hand, the effects of growing socioeconomic conditions and, on the other, possible gender differences.

On March 17, and organized by Dr Jordi Moreras, coordinator of the Master's Degree in Urban Anthropology, Migrations and Social Intervention of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Dr Antonio Gómez Villar presented the conference "Neoliberalism as a passive revolution".

With the title "Social Work and the Elderly: building inclusive futures", this year's Workshop was held on Thursday 20 March, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Aula Magna of the URV's Catalonia campus. With the participation of renowned social workers from the academic and professional world, members of social entities and representatives of the public administration, we had the opportunity to listen to two conferences and discuss about "Ageing at home" and the role of social work in the ageing process.

Within the framework of the subject Marginalization and social exclusion of the Degree in Social Work, on Thursday, April 3, the conference of Lucía Guerrero, from the Health Service of the City of Hospitalet de Llobregat, on Diogenes syndrome was organized. Lucia presented the results of an intervention and research project on this syndrome, shared between researchers from the Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Addictions (Parc de Salut Mar-Barcelona), the Centro de Investigación Biomèdica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM-Madrid), the Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine (UAB), the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM, Barcelona) and the Health Service of the City Council of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.

This second session of the Seminars of the Social Anthropology Group, entitled "Resilience, Dependence, Digitization. Views from Social Work", took place in the Arxiu classroom of the Catalunya campus on April 3rd. On this occasion, the presentations were given by Yolanda Domingo and María Robert, Claudia Anleu and Antoni Llort. Yolanda Domingo and María Robert presented their work on the digitization of basic social services in Catalonia. Dr. Anleu shared the general approach of her ResiYouth project, as well as the fieldwork carried out so far, the results and the preliminary reflections. Thirdly, Dr. Llort presented a phenomenological study on the experience and efficacy of ibogaine treatment for methadone dependence.

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On Friday, April 4, 80 students of Social Work, Law and Computer Science participated in the Hackathon "Geomap on the sociodemographic situation of sons and daughters victims of femicide", an initiative of the FEMMAP teaching innovation project, which combines research with teaching. The activity stands out for its interdisciplinary methodology, which has made it possible to combine different areas of knowledge to address a complex problem such as the situation of children who are victims of femicide. During the day, the teams have worked on the design of a geomap prototype that will improve intervention and protection strategies for victims of femicide. This tool seeks to provide an innovative and more effective perspective in the care of these cases.

The Master's Degree in Urban Anthropology, Migrations and Social Intervention (MAUMIS) organized a new edition of Open Seminars that were held between April 7 and May 21, 2025. Four invited researchers presented their current research: Claudia Anleu (URV), Verónica Jaramillo (CONICET-Argentina), Irene Sabaté (UB) and Ana Urmeneta (Habemus Tesis).

From April 7 to 10, 2025, the week of the Doctorate in Anthropology and Communication was held. With presentations by established research staff and young researchers in training, it was a week very rich in debates.

The MARC colloquium 2024-25, coordinated by Blanca Deusdad Ayala and Fernando Vidal, will address this topic, exploring the ethical problem in another of its dimensions. The methodological, ethnographic, and theoretical analysis boundaries of anthropology as a science that addresses issues of marginality and discrimination often involve activism in defense of marginalized groups, as well as a commitment to human rights and various social and political causes. The colloquium aims to explore the dynamics of engagement and activism in anthropology through presentations by involved practitioners. How does activism impact research, and what does it mean to conduct engaged research? With these questions, the Seminar aims to address a dimension of anthropology that is not always sufficiently highlighted or conceptualized.

On April 24, at the El Carmel - Juan Marsé Library, the presentation of the results of the Feminist Clinical Simulations in Gynaecology and Obstetrics was held. The presentation, led by Dr Serena Brigidi (PI of the project), was joined by Dr Elena Carreras (Vall d'Hebron Hospital) and Dr Sandra Morano (Università degli Studi di Genova), as well as Dr Ramon Escuriet (Catalan Health Service).

On May 6 and 7, the doctoral students in Social Work who have already carried out fieldwork and are finalizing their doctoral thesis experienced a public 'pre-defense' of their research.

On May 8, Isaura Castelao-Huerta (Cinvestav-IPN) and Livia Motterle (Universitat Rovira i Virgili) participated in this online conversation. The activity was moderated by Brenda Macías (CIEG-UNAM).

On May 9, all the services and entities that are part of the Board presented services and participatory activities that identify them. The FEMMINOR project participated, together with V-Tools, with a virtual reality activity that aims to prevent bullying and promote gender equality.

On May 26, 2025 and in the framework of the research project MyRobot, took place Dr. Shibata´s lecture. Dr. Takanori Shibata has been Chief Senior Research Scientist at the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) since 2013. His research interests include human-robot interaction, robot therapy, mental health for astronauts in long-term mission, and humanitarian de-mining.

Professor Carla Barbosa Moreira, researcher at the Federal Center for Technological Education in Minas Gerais (Brazil) shared with us the presentation of the project "Discursive Archive of Youth", which aims to promote the circulation of knowledge among young Brazilians living abroad for the implementation of the Discursive Archive of Youth (ADJuv), in collaboration with the Universitá degli Studi Roma Tre. These are discursive objects produced in different digital media, such as radio programs, podcasts, live broadcasts, newspaper columns and in different discursive genres. The pilot project aims to develop ways to promote anti-racist education.

This colloquium took place from 3 to 5 June 2025, with the aim of discussing the challenges facing societies with increasingly ageing populations, with a focus on health and care from an anti-ageist perspective. Insofar as old age needs to be understood beyond its biological dimensions, a series of round tables were organised to address ageing as an existential and complex phenomenon conditioned by cultural, social and political factors, but in which older adults are also contributing to societies. The ultimate aim of the colloquium is to contribute to the debate on longevity as a space where challenges can also be opportunities for a dignified and fulfilling life in old age.

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The V Conference on Innovation in the Social and Educational Intervention, framed in the 7th edition of the Master's Degree in Innovation in the Social and Educational Intervention (MIISE), took place on June 13, 2025.

During the conference, which focused on the gender perspective as a tool for innovation and social transformation, projects and experiences were presented that highlight the importance of incorporating the gender perspective in social and educational intervention, with the aim of promoting more egalitarian and equitable societies. Professionals from public administration and social entities shared good practices and creative solutions to address emerging needs.

On Thursday, June 19, the 2025 edition of the Master's Degree in Urban Anthropology, Migrations and Social Intervention Workshop was held, with the title of "Contemporary Mobilities. Borders, tensions and forms of relevance".

Based on research experiences that account for the different possibilities of movement that people have together with the repercussions on their lives and forms of belonging, we intend to reflect on the following question: How can we think of contemporary human mobility without seeing it as problematic, and capturing its diversity without ignoring its political dimensions?

The International Training Week on Obstetric Violence, organised by the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) within the framework of the European project IPOV - Respectful Care, took place in Barcelona from 17 to 20 June 2025. The training, aimed at researchers and health professionals from Europe and Latin America, was coordinated by Dr Serena Brigidi. The objective of this initiative was to promote interdisciplinary exchange between social and biomedical sciences, to explore innovative training tools and to generate critical reflection on obstetric violence and the paths towards its eradication.

This activity, related to the RETCOV research project, took place on June 26 in the Sala de Juntes of the Catalunya campus. With the participation of various people and institutions involved in the sector, four round tables were held throughout the day.

This cycle, coordinated by Joelle Abi-Rached, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Medicine, AUB) and Fernando Vidal, PhD (ICREA Research Professor, MARC-URV), consists of six meetings that will take place between October 2025 and May 2026. Presentations explore how advocacy shapes everyday care and becomes embedded in research on medicine and global health - connecting perspectives across the Global South and Global North.

Once again, the DAFiTS collaborated in the organisation of the URV session of the Barcelona Indigenous Film Festival - IndiFest 2025, organised by AlterNativa and the Institut Tarragonès d'Antropologia (ITA). This session - held on October 16 at the Catalunya campus - aimed to open a space for reflection and dialogue on the contemporary realities of indigenous peoples, through the screening of two audio-visual works that address the defence of land, water and territories from indigenous perspectives: Sukande Kasáká: Terra doente (2025) and Agua es vida (2023). On this occasion, we had the participation of Miguel Melín Pehuen (Mapuche People, Chile), Maria Offenhenden, (DAFiTS - ITA) and Francisco Pérez Hernández (DAFiTS researcher)