On 3 July, the Faculty of Education Sciences hosted the presentation of the positive social footprint calculator, one of the two main pillars of the competitive Educlima project, led by researcher Sílvia Albareda. The event brought together experts, UIC Barcelona lecturers and around fifty citizens who took part in validating the calculator. 

The session began with a round table discussion moderated by Sílvia Albareda, featuring Dr Josep Argemí, Professor of Medicine and Rector of UIC Barcelona from 2001 to 2010; Ms Adela Suñer, corporate social responsibility consultant and collaborator with Cáritas Barcelona; Ms Roser Bosch, member of Justicia i Pau and director of the project Art Descalç per la Terra; and Ms Esther Franquet i Barnils, head of the Department of Nursing at Fundació Puigvert.

In a brief discussion on the importance of caring for others, participants shared personal experiences and reflections with the audience. One of the most moving moments of the round table was the contribution of Dr Josep Argemí, who spoke about his son Xavier Argemí, who suffered from progressive muscular dystrophy. “For us it was a great blessing to have had him; his situation made us forget about ourselves and think only of him,” said the former Rector of UIC Barcelona.

Along similar lines, Esther Franquet i Barnils, head of the Department of Nursing at Fundació Puigvert, highlighted the importance of human relationships between healthcare professionals and patients. “Care goes beyond illness; we need to attend to people in all their dimensions, including the emotional and spiritual,” she explained.

A tool for educational purposes

To recognise the value of caring for others, the positive social footprint calculator has been created to measure intangible actions such as caring for family and friends or active involvement in social and humanitarian causes. The tool, which is expected to be developed into an app in the future, has an educational purpose and is also intended for eventual use in companies.

The positive social footprint calculator asks citizens about their dedication in four areas: family, work, leisure and social commitment, always with a focus on relationships rather than individual acts. The results measure the frequency, involvement and effort devoted to these activities. The aim of the calculator is to raise public awareness of the level of care they provide to others.

At the event held in the Faculty of Education Sciences, the calculator also underwent validation by attendees as an exercise in citizen science. Around fifty participants completed a form to validate the actions proposed in the calculator, assessing the clarity, coherence and relevance of the topics covered. The session also explored some of the dilemmas encountered in developing the calculator.

Some of the questions addressed by the calculator include: Do I care for a family member? Do I make time for friends in difficult moments? Do I work to create a positive atmosphere in my workplace? “We tested the calculator in the classroom, and most of the students realised how important it was to spend time with their grandparents,” shared Mariona Graell, lecturer at UIC Barcelona and member of the Educlima project.

“The climate emergency we face generates both catastrophism and scepticism. We propose measuring our individual, intangible actions for climate action and caring for others in a positive way, to make the invisible visible,” said the project’s principal investigator, Sílvia Albareda. The calculator is inspired by concepts such as the care economy, the economy for the common good and ecofeminism, among others. The plan is to complement the presented calculator with one for inverse carbon footprint and integrate both into a single application.