Polibienestar opens a channel for scientific collaboration with the Centre for Arctic Welfare in Greenland

Polibienestar’s relationship with this university began approximately two years ago, when professors Jorge Garcés, Annamaria Campanini and Francisco Ródenas invited professors Steven Arnfjord and Kevin Perry to contribute to the International Handbook of Social Work – a worldwide treatise featuring 93 experts in social policy from 30 countries across five continents, including Greenland. The book was presented on 16 June at the University of Nuuk to the Greenlandic academic and scientific community and will also be presented at the University of Valencia in November this year.

“Polibienestar’s visit to the University of Nuuk is our academic and scientific gesture towards Greenland. That is why we proposed that this international treatise be launched first in Greenland”, said Jordi Garcés, who is also professor in the Department of Social Work and Social Services at the University of Valencia. The book, published in English by Tirant Lo Blanch in Valencia, features contributions from experts in social work and social policy from Hong Kong, Japan, Zambia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Haiti, Chile, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Angola, Iran, Bosnia, Malaysia, South Africa, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Trinidad and Tobago, India and New Zealand, among others, including Spain.

The Centre for Arctic Welfare conducts research into contemporary welfare issues related to social wellbeing in the Arctic environment. Its approach is closely aligned with that of Polibienestar, as it addresses public policy research from an interdisciplinary and interinstitutional perspective, integrating sustainability and European governance.

The Centre for Arctic Welfare is also interested in topics that Polibienestar has been researching for over 20 years, such as population ageing and integrated social and healthcare services that link health and social care provision. In this regard, one of Polibienestar’s objectives is to propose a collaboration agreement with the University of Nuuk to promote joint research projects within the framework of the European Research Framework Programme.

Jordi Garcés’s visit to Greenland had to be expressly authorised by the island’s Minister of Education due to new regulations that restrict international academic visits from non-Nordic countries without prior authorisation from the Danish authorities, to whom Greenland belongs, in response to the political climate influenced by the US administration.

Polibienestar is a public research institute specialising in public policies for social welfare and is part of the University of Valencia. This year marks the 15th anniversary of its creation.