Last Wednesday 17 at 12 pm, the main event of the 15th anniversary of the Research Institute of Welfare of the UV , was held at the Assembly Hall of the Faculty of Social Sciences. Find the programme here.

After the welcome of the rector of the Universitat de València, spoke Juan Cruz Cigudosa, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish Government, as well as José Capilla, the UV Principal and Amparo Montañana, Vice-Principal of the UJI, on behalf of Eva Alcón, UJI’s Principal.

The central conference, entitled "Disinformation and quality of life: Challenges from science and public welfare policies", was given by Carolina Moreno Castro, fulll-time University Professor of Journalism at the Universitat de València and secretary at Research Institute of Welfare of the UV.

It is a pride for Polibienestar to have all these personalities in the celebration of its 15th anniversary. Professor Garcés Ferrer, head of the Research Institute said: “It is necessary to promote research and the transfer of interdisciplinary and socio-technical processes in order to improve the well-being of European societies. This is the ultimate goal of the Polibienestar Research Institute and where all our efforts over the last 15 years have been focused. This has earned us the recognition we enjoy today in the academic world and at the European Commission”.

The Principal of the Universitat de València has recognised the work of Jorge Garcés and all his team as well as his contribution to science and to UV.  In fact, it has highlighted the leadership of Polibienestar in attracting financing in the area of social sciences and the Social Council award which Polibienestar received from UV, but also from UPV.

According to the Secretary of State, “Polibienestar represents the best about public university”, due to its commitment to people. He also adds that scientific advances are largely thanks to research centres such as Polibienestar, which faces current challenges and has a direct impact on the betterment of society. In addition, it is worth highlighting the disciplinary team of more than 150 researchers from different areas of knowledge, who approach research in a complex manner.

In his speech, Jorge Garcés highlights that “we live in a complex world and for this reason, Polibienestar approches its research from an interdisciplinary perspective and applying sociotechnical processes. Moreover, he thanks his team for their work and emphasises that in science, young researcher must take over. “We must invest on social sciences in order to prevent the severe inequality crisis that is about to come".

Amparo Montaña, on behalf of UJI’s Principal, but as well as part of the Polibienestar team, has highlighted the merit of Jorge Garcés for his career and for putting humans as the centre of research and politics. Furthermore, he has spent time working with technical, technological and social sciences.

Jose Capilla, Principal of the UV has outlined that “Polibienestar shows a deep social responsibility”.  And that it also meets the requirement to pursue sustainability in its three core areas, economic, social and environmental sustainability.

About Polibienestar, Universitat de València

Research Institute on Social Welfare Policy (Polibienestar) is a UV’s public research institute of international reference that is part of the Universitat de València. It is specialised in social research, innovation and social technology, technical assistance, and social policy training. For more than 20 years, Polibienestar is led by professor Jorge Garcés-Ferrer. The centre has been developing an applied interdisciplinary research about economical, social, politic and technical sustainability of the wellbeing systems, advising the administration and enterprises about design, planning and implementation of resources and social wellbeing and sustainability politics. The main research and transfer lines of Polibienestar are health, sustainability and governance, and inclusive innovation and training. In the past 15 years, the public research institute has participated in over 120 European projects.